SPORTS BETTING

• Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings 8:00 ET

  Posted on Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT by North Shore Sports, INC

  
  

  The Stanley Cup Finals end tonight, meaning it’s the last chance for hockey bettors to boost their bankrolls this season. Bookmaker Sportsbook customers have had a fantastic seven-game series to sink their teeth into, but after three games for each side, the Pittsburgh Penguins (60-35-4-6, +$232) and the Detroit Red Wings (66-26-8-4) will do battle in a one-game, do-or-die showdown for the right to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup. The Penguins forced a Game 7 by beating the Wings 2-1 at the Igloo in Tuesday night’s Game 6, making the home team a perfect 6-0 SU in this series. Will that trend continue tonight, or will the Penguins shock the world and win it all?

  The Red Wings currently sit as lofty -195 favorites with the ‘total’ set at 5.5 under -130 for the 7th and final game of the 2008-09 NHL betting season.

  If anyone had told a Penguins fan that they’d be in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup without any real contributions from C Sidney Crosby, they’d probably laugh at you. But it’s true; neither Crosby nor C Evgeni Malkin have done much to make Red Wings bettors quake in their boots of late. Yes, Crosby had a big Game 4, scoring a goal and recording an assist, but those are just two of the three total points he has in this series. Sure, Malkin had three assists in Game 3 and a goal and an assist in Game 4, but he too, has been kept off of the stat sheet since eight days ago.

  Why are the Pens still alive in this series then? Look no further than the play of G Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury was absolutely miserable in a 5-0 defeat in Detroit in Game 5 of this series, but save those two outings, the Canadian has held his own fairly well. He was fantastic three nights ago in Game 6, stopping 25 of 26 shots on goal to preserve the victory. Yes, he’s allowed a whopping 21 more goals in this postseason than he did last year, but the difference this year is that he is just one more win away from calling himself a champion.

  The Red Wings have to be kicking themselves for not putting away the Pens when they had the chance. In fairness, after dominating Game 5, a letdown was expected, and Pittsburgh did take it to Detroit for the majority of Game 6. Still, now it’s do-or-die time, and the defending champs have all of the pressure in the world on them. C Pavel Datsyuk has to make his presence known after missing the first four games of this series. He recorded two assists in Game 5, but is still without a goal in the series. C Johan Franzen only has a pair of goals and a pair of assists in this series, while LW Henrik Zetterberg only has one more assist than Franzen does.

  Don’t blame the Game 6 loss on G Chris Osgood. Osgood was beaten on two largely unlucky goals, and at times looked absolutely unbeatable between the pipes. He stopped 29 of 31 shots, marking his second straight very solid game. He’s got a 2.02 GAA in these playoffs, and could be the driving force that can make the Wings the champs for the second straight season.

  Who’s your money going to be on tonight? Both the Pens and Wings are going to be looking to add to their illustrious histories! Try your luck at Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals by logging into your Bookmaker.com account and placing your NHL playoff bets right now!