Pittsburgh Penguins (41-23-7) at Montreal Canadiens (32-32-9)
NHL Hockey: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 at 8:00 pm (Scotiabank Arena)
The Line: Montreal Canadiens -110 / Pittsburgh Penguins -110 --- Over/Under: 5.5 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Montreal Canadiens and Pittsburgh Penguins meet Wednesday in game three of the NHL East Qualifying action at the Scotiabank Arena.
The Montreal Canadiens look for a bounce back victory here to take a 2-1 series lead. The Montreal Canadiens are averaging three goals per game and are scoring on zero percent of their power play opportunities. Jesperi Kotkaniemi leads Montreal with two goals, Paul Byron has one assist and Brendan Gallagher has 11 shots on goal. Defensively, the Montreal Canadiens are allowing two goals per game and are killing 85.7 percent of their opponents power plays. Carey Price has given up four goals on 78 shots faced.
The Pittsburgh Penguins look for back-to-back victories to take a solid 2-1 series lead. The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging two goals per game and are scoring on 14.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh with two goals, Jake Guentzel has two assists and Evgeni Malkin has 15 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing three goals per game and are killing 100 percent of their opponents power plays. Matt Murray has given up four goals on 63 shots faced.
The Penguins are 16-6 in their last 22 games playing on 1 days rest, 3-7 in their last 10 games as a favorite and 4-9 in their last 13 overall. The Canadiens are 6-16 in their last 22 Wednesday games, 1-4 in their last 5 games as an underdog and 1-4 in their last 5 overall. The over is 4-1-1 in Penguins last 6 overall. The under is 4-1 in Canadiens last 5 overall. The Penguins are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Montreal and 9-4 in the last 13 meetings.
The Pittsburgh Penguins bounced back nicely in game two of this series where they were the aggressors from the start and produced 38 shots on goal overall. It's fair to say the Penguins are the better team in this series overall and when they force the issue offensively, the Canadiens are going to have issues responding and keeping up. Throw in the playoff experience and I expect the Penguins to get the job done in what's a crucial game three.
Randy’s Pick Pittsburgh Penguins -110
AUTHOR: Randy Chambers
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