Defending champion Pittsburgh twice came back to win series. After losing the first two games, they advanced to the Stanley Cup finals twice, in the past two years. “Playoff series are all about getting four wins and trying to get there as quickly as you possibly can,” Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. The presence of superstars like Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, the defending champions remain the favorites.

Their ace defenseman Anton Volchenkov has to be at his best. The game is very tough one. “Being down 3-1, it’s a tough position to be in to come back,” Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. Filip Kuba will be a missing ingredient in the Senato’s line up. The presence of Chris Phillips will help the team for sure. The defense should make a good effort to shut Sidney Crosby of Penguins.

Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 51% of more than 597 bets for this game have been placed on the Senators +250.

Sidney Crosby and his Pittsburgh Penguins host Alexander Ovechkin and his Washington Capitals in what should be a high-scoring NHL matchup on Thursday (7:30 pm ET, NHLN-US, CSN-DC, FS-P).

But it’s the Capitals who are slight favorites, at -115, in NHL Betting Odds at Sportsbook.

As would be expected with these two high-powered offenses, the over/under is 6.5 with some pretty big juice (-130).

Washington is 5-2-0-3 over the past 10 meetings, eight of which have eclipsed the total.

This is their first meeting since the 2009 NHL Playoffs. Pittsburgh won the best-of-seven series en route to winning the Stanley Cup, beating the Capitals 6-2 in the final game of the series.

The total has gone over in five of the past six meetings overall, and in six of the past seven in Pittsburgh.
Both teams’ last game was Tuesday.

Dave Steckel’s goal late in the third period lifted the Capitals past the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Tuesday night. Washington won as -170 home favorites, while the game played under the 6-goal total.

Sidney Crosby finished with two goals and four assists to lead the Penguins over the Islanders 6-4 on Tuesday night. Pittsburgh cashed as -210 home favorites, while the game played over the 5.5-goal total.

Washington (31-12-6) has won four straight games. Pittsburgh (31-19-1) is 3-2 in its past five.

Pittsburgh will be hoping to snap a nine-game slump that has sent Sidney Crosby and Co. spiraling in the NHL standings,  into second in their division behind the New Jersey Devils and sixth overall.

The Penguins have lost seven of their last nine – including a 4-3 loss at home to Toronto in December that kicked off a five game losing streak. They can not afford to lose this game if it could send them spiraling into a similar slump.

The Maple Leafs have the third worst record in the league and they have two injured forwards – Grabovsi and Primeau will both be missing the game. But they have almost nowhere to go but up in this situation. The Leafs started the season really slow, but went 8-8 in December, including the aforementioned road win against the Penguins.

NHL Odds have the Penguins as a -145 favorite and  Toronto as a +125 underdog.

Pittsburgh may be in a deep slump, but they have 55 points going into the game over Toronto’s 39 – not to mention the fact that they are the defending champions. The Penguins know how to play, but they need to show up and make it happen on Saturday night.

In the beginning of the season this game would have been a write off but, things being as they are, this could be a really interesting game. The teams are 1-1 on the season head to head and they are both fighting to keep their seasons alive and kicking. All in all, a good watch, but the smart money is probably on a different game with a better payout or a safer outcome.

NHL Hockey Betting Odds have the Penguins as -200 moneyline favorites and the over/under total at 6.

Pittsburgh is 7-3 in the past 10 meetings. Pittsburgh edged Philadelphia 5-4 in their first meeting this season on Oct. 8.

Somewhat surprisingly, given the offensive output of both clubs, six of the past 10 meetings have gone under the total. The under is even more prevalent recently, as five of the past six meetings in Pittsburgh have gone under.

As well, the total has gone under in all five of Philadelphia’s past five games on the road, and in five of Pittsburgh’s past six games at home.

Philadelphia’s Kimmo Timonen scored two goals, including the eventual winner in the third period, to lead the Flyers past the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Monday night. Philadelphia (15-15-1) cashed as +135 road underdogs and the score went under the 5.5-goal total.

And Evgeni Malkin netted the overtime winner for the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win against the Panthers at Mellon Arena Saturday. Pittsburgh (22-10-1) won as a -270 home favorite while the final score played under the 5.5-goal total.

Pittsburgh is a -130 favorite in NHL Odds at Bodog.

This is the first meeting between the teams this season. The Penguins have dominated the past 10 meetings, going 8-2. The Blackhawks and Penguins last squared off on Feb. 27 last season, when the Penguins edged the Blackhawks 5-4 in Chicago. The Blackhawks had been a -230 favorite in that game.

It was also a 5-4 Penguins win the last time the teams met in Pittsburgh, on Feb. 14, 2007.

In their last game, the Blackhawks got past division rival 4-3 on Tuesday, as a -230 home favorite.

Pittsburgh picked up its third-straight win on Thursday, beating the Colorado Avalanche 4-1 as a -290 home favorite.  

Chicago is 17-6-3 this season. Pittsburgh is 20-9-0.

Penguins’ forward Matt Cooke is due back from a suspension on Saturday, while defenseman Alex Goligoski is listed as day-to-day with a groin injury.

The Stanley Cup champions are mired in a four-game slump amidst a rash of injuries, including Evgeni Malkin.

Check out Sportingbet for NHL Betting Odds for this matchup.

Boston, who’ve also been struggling and are missing two top players, are 5-3-0-1 in the past 10 meetings with Pittsburgh. The teams met on Tuesday, when the Bruins shut out the Pens 3-0 as a -140 home favorite.  

Boston was shut out 1-0 by the Florida Panthers on Thursday, as a -185 home favorite. Needless to say, the score went under the total of 5.5.

In their last game, the Penguins lost 4-1 to the red-hot New Jersey Devils on Thursday. The Penguins had been a -130 home favorite, and the score went under the total of 5.5.

Besides Malkin (shoulder), Pittsburgh injuries include All-Star defenseman Sergei Gonchar (broken wrist); forward Tyler Kennedy (groin); defenseman Kris Letang (shoulder); defenseman Brooks Orpik (lower-body injury); and forward Maxime Talbot (shoulder).

Boston is missing two-thirds of its top line. Milan Lucic is out with a broken finger and Marc Savard is out with a broken foot.

The Ducks, who are 2-5 SU at home this season, will be in tough as the Stanley Cup champs are 6-0 SU on the road.

Pittsburgh is a -115 favorite in NHL Betting Odds.

Pittsburgh and Anaheim last met on Jan. 16 last season, when the Penguins won 3-1 as a -110 home favorite. Pittsburgh hasn’t been to Anaheim since Nov. 6, 2006, when the Ducks won 3-2.

The Penguins were upset in their last game, a 2-1 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Minnesota won as a +181 road underdog while the score went under the 5.5-goal total.

The Ducks lost 3-2 to the Coyotes in a shootout last time out, as +110 underdogs. The score slipped under the 5.5-goal total.

Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne scored for the Ducks, while Jonas Hiller made 30 saves in the loss.

Pittsburgh is 11-3-0 this season and Anaheim is 4-6-2.

The Penguins are 3-1 so far this season while the Leafs are still looking for their first win (0-2-1).

Check out NHL Betting Odds at Sportingbet to get the latest lines for the Penguins-Maple Leafs matchup.

Toronto has the edge in the head-to-head series, going 6-3-0-1 over the past 10 meetings. Eight of those matchups have gone over the total.

The teams last met on Feb. 14 last season, when the Maple Leafs blew out the Penguins 6-2 as +125 home underdogs.

In their last game, the Penguins beat division-rival Philadelphia Flyers 5-4 on the road Thursday, while the Maple Leafs lost 2-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday as a -125 home favorite.