Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals
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The two teams from the Eastern Conference Finals duke it out in a heated NHL betting battle to kick off Super Bowl Sunday when the Pittsburgh Penguins (35-22-1, -$1,299) visit the Washington Capitals (40-12-6, +$2,400). This is the first time that the Pens return to the scene of the crime, where they beat the Caps in Game 7 of their playoffs series. Pittsburgh is coming off of a 5-3 defeat against Montreal on Saturday afternoon. The Capitals have been on absolute fire since losing 7-4 in Tampa Bay on January 12th. They’ve won 13 straight games and have scored at least three goals in each of those outings.

You can’t talk about the defending champions without mentioning their captain, C Sidney Crosby. He leads the team by a country mile in goals with 37 and is second on the squad with 35 points. Since January 19th, Sid the Kid has scored seven goals and dished out eight assists. Defense has been a major problem for the Penguins of late. They’ve conceded at least four goals in three of their L/4 games overall. They’re also the only team in the NHL that hasn’t pitched a shutout all season long. However, when you’ve got an offense that is averaging 32.4 shots per game, your defense can afford to slack just a tad. G Marc-Andre Fleury, who was one of the key cogs in last year’s Stanley Cup run, has a suitable 2.63 GAA on the season and is 28-16-1 to show for it.

Washington has its own superstar in the form of F Alexander Ovechkin. Ovie had a huge day against the Pens in their first meeting of the year, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Without a doubt, the Capitals have the best offense in the NHL. They enter Sunday’s showdown at #1 in the league, averaging 3.9 goals per game. They’re also #1 on the power play (26.0%) and fourth in shots on goal (32.6 per game). G Jose Theodore hasn’t exactly been stellar between the pipes, as he is only 19-7-4 on the season, but he has won nine straight starts. Theodore is allowing 2.84 goals per game.

When these two teams met in Pittsburgh earlier this season, the Caps picked up a 6-3 victory on January 21st as a part of this long winning streak. Expect to see a lot of goals in this one, as the L/17 clashes in DC have resulted in 14 ‘overs’ against just three ‘unders’.

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