The NHL Stanley Cup 2022 is well underway, and we have got a huge game 5 waiting on us tonight between the New York Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Penguins currently hold a 3-1 lead after four games so far and know that a win here will see them eliminate New York from the competition nice and early.
We’ll take a look ahead to the game between these two great NHL sides and see if we can come up with the best betting tips for you to earn some extra cash ahead of the game.
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So far, the Penguins have shown they are by far the better team out of the two with some dominant displays in recent fixtures.
Game 1 was a close affair in New York, with the Pittsburgh coming out narrowly on top with a 4-3 win after triple overtime in what was a brilliant advert for the drama that the NHL brings.
Game 2 saw the Rangers get their revenge with a big 5-2 win, led by a real team effort as all of Artemi Panarin, Frank Vatrano, Andrew Copp, Chris Kreider, and Ryan Strome got a goal each for the home side.
Game 3 saw a huge turnaround from the Penguins, though, as New York crumbled under the pressure of the Pittsburgh crowd and fell to a massive 7-4 defeat. Evan Rodrigues and Jeff Carter scored two goals each, while Brock McGinn, Jake Guentzel, and Danton Heinen added to the tally to really put New York to the sword.
Game 4 was even better for the Penguins as they launched an all-out attack and came away with a successful 7-2 win to take a commanding lead in the series. It was a significant team effort as they came away with seven different scorers on the night.
The Rangers have been solid favorites so far in the NHL, claiming victory in 34 of 51 games that they have been the bookies’ favorites in so far this campaign.
So far this season, the overs market has been a solid one to back in games, including New York. There have been six or more goals in 42 of 88 games so far, including every single game in this series so far against the Penguins.
Over the last ten games, they have accumulated a 6-4 run, scoring 33 goals for an average of 3.3 goals per game, and conceding 39 goals for an average of 3.9 conceded per game.
Over the course of the season though they’ve been the opposite of that, proving to be the second-best side in the entire NHL defensively. They allowed just 2.49 goals per game across the season, ranking them second in the league, while scoring an average of 3.06, ranking them 16th.
They took just 29 shots per game on average, a total that ranked them in 28th across the league for that stat but they only allowed 30.8 shots per game themselves, a number that ranked them in 11th.
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Pittsburgh have proven to be excellent underdogs so far this season, claiming victory on 15 occasions from 27 games where they were priced at plus money by the bookies.
So far this season, the overs market for goals has been excellent for them also. The over 6 goals market has been hit in 53 of 89 games so far this season in games including Pittsburgh, while they themselves have scored seven in each of their last two against New York.
In their last ten games, they have amassed a record of 6-4, where they have managed to find the net on 39 occasions for an average of 3.9 goals scored per game, while they have conceded 30 for an average 3 goals per game.
They were very strong throughout the regular season too. Going forward they scored 3.29 goals per game, a total which ranked them in 11th for the entire NHL, while they also managed to take an average of 34.7 shots per game which ranked them in 6th.
Defensively, however, they were solid too. They conceded an average of 2.72 goals per game for a league ranking of 5th, while they also only allowed an average of 31.3 shots for a ranking of 14th across the league.
Pittsburgh are quite clearly the stronger team of the two, and their offensive lineup proved that in games three and four.
Going forward, they’re so strong, and defensively, they’re strong enough to cope with an offensive setup that isn’t prolific enough to go the distance in this tournament realistically.
There is an old saying that attack wins you games and defense wins you titles, but it’s goals that win games, and if you can’t score to take advantage of your strong defense, you’re always leaving yourself with a mountain to climb in games.
Returning back to New York will make it difficult and will explain the odds, but with Pittsburgh needing a win to end the series, expect them to be aggressive and find the goals they need to claim the win.
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About the Author
A soccer and MMA fanatic who believes the eye test far outweighs statistics, apart from when it comes to betting. With experience writing for several years, Daniel is an avid sports fan but also enjoys obstacle courses, music and views from a height.
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