Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Pittsburgh vs. Montreal

Hockey Betting Lines

04/29/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If the last two springs were any indication, the Pittsburgh Penguins playoff run is just getting started.

Pittsburgh entered this postseason as the defending Stanley Cup champions and winner of the last two Eastern Conference titles, so expectations are pretty high for Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

The club is trying to become the first team to claim back-to-back Cups since Detroit pulled off the feat in 1997 and '98. The Penguins were the last franchise to win consecutive titles before the Red Wings, lifting Lord Stanley's Cup in 1991 and '92.

The Penguins had a solid start to the 2010 postseason, ousting fifth-seeded Ottawa in six games to earn a berth in Round 2. Pittsburgh's biggest asset in the Senators series was Crosby, as the team captain led all playoff scorers in the opening round with 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists).

The 14 points were the second-most scored by a Penguins player in a single playoff series. Only the legendary Mario Lemieux had more when he notched 17 points in seven games against Washington in '92.

Pittsburgh's second-best offensive weapon should come as no surprise, as last year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin recorded four goals and four assists to finish behind Crosby's torrid pace. Last spring, Malkin and Crosby were the NHL's top-two scorers in the playoffs, posting 36 and 31 points, respectively.

With two superstar centermen in Crosby and Malkin the Penguins basically have lines 1-A and 1-B, rather than a clear top unit. Jordan Staal is also a quality third option down the middle for Pittsburgh, although he would like to bounce back from a poor series against the Senators.

Staal had one goal and two assists and, despite being a finalist for this year's Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward, he was also a minus-three for the series.

Outside of Malkin and Crosby, Pittsburgh's top scorers in Round 1 were wingers Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz, who each post six points against the Senators. Kunitz is questionable for the second round opener with an undisclosed injury.

Sergei Gonchar is often overlooked on a team that oozes star power, but the Pens top defensemen displayed his worth in the opening round. The steady Russian turned in six points (all assists) and tied Crosby for the team lead with a plus-seven rating.

Fellow blueliners Alex Goligoski and Kris Letang added three and two points, respectively, against Ottawa. Both of Letang's points came on goals.

Gonchar is the glue that holds Pittsburgh's deadly power play together and the unit performed well in the opening round, scoring on 25 percent of its opportunities (7-of-28). The same can't be said for the Pens' penalty killing against the Senators, who scored seven times on 22 opportunities for a 31.8 percent success rate on the man advantage.

Marc-Andre Fleury did not have a good opening series in net for the Pens, posting a 2.75 goals-against average and .890 save percentage in the six-game set. Despite being just 25 years of age, Fleury does have tons of playoff experience, going 35-20 with a 2.49 GAA and .913 save percentage in 55 career postseason contests.

MONTREAL CANADIENS (8th seed, East)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 39-33-10

2010 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Washington 4-3 in conference quarterfinals

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Canadiens slayed a giant in the opening round of the playoffs, and Montreal will have to pull off another miraculous upset if it wants to reach the conference finals for the first time since 1993.

At the start of this postseason, the eighth-seeded Habs weren't given much of a chance to knock off the Washington Capitals in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. Then, when the Presidents' Trophy winners took a three games to one lead over Montreal, it seemed almost a lock that the Canadiens were headed to a second straight first-round exit.

That's when Montreal rode goaltender Jaroslav Halak to three straight wins, including road victories in Games 5 and 7, to shock the Capitals. The Habs came back from a 3-1 deficit to win a series for the second time in club history, also pulling off the feat against Boston in the first round of the 2004 playoffs.

With his clutch puck-stopping down the stretch, Halak was a huge reason the Habs were even able to make the postseason in the first place. He reached new heights in Round 1, making 131 saves on 134 shots over the final three games against Washington.

Despite being pulled from Game 3 and getting benched in the following test, Halak ended the series with a 2.46 GAA and .939 save percentage in six games.

But, Montreal's thrilling win over the Caps can be attributed to more than just a hot goaltender. The team also boasts a deep defensive corps that is led by Andrei Markov and also includes former Pittsburgh blueliner Hal Gill, who helped the Pens to the Stanley Cup title before signing as a free agent with Montreal last summer.

Markov, who is one of the best all-around blueliners in the NHL, can shut down the opposition in his own end and make them pay when he is in the offensive zone. He led Montreal's defensemen in points (4 assists) and ice time per game (26:36) in the opening round. Markov is normally paired with either Marc-Andre Bergeron or Ryan O'Byrne.

Gill is a physical player at 6-foot-7, 250 pounds and is a prototypical stay- at-home defensemen who usually pairs with Josh Gorges. Gill did an excellent job blanketing Alex Ovechkin in the opening round and will likely be used to try and do the same to his former teammate Crosby in this series.

Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek are another solid pairing for the Habs, but Spacek has been sidelined with an undisclosed illness that caused him to miss Game 4-7 against Washington. His status is questionable for Game 1 against the Pens.

Michael Cammalleri was the go-to scorer for Montreal against the Caps, leading the team in both goals (5) and points (10). Cammalleri struggled against the Penguins during the regular season, however, posting just one assist and recording a minus-four rating in three games.

Tomas Plekanec, Andrei Kostitsyn, Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez will also be called on to lead Montreal's scoring attack in Round 2. Plekanec led that group with four goals and seven points, while Kostitsyn was next with six points (3g, 3a).

Outside of Cammalleri, Montreal's forwards are not a high-scoring bunch, but the team does join the solid blueline corps to form a cohesive defensive unit. This helped the Habs kill off 97 percent (32-of-33) of Washington's chances with the man advantage. The Canadiens were 12th in the league with an 83- percent success rate on the penalty kill during the regular season.

Montreal scored six times on 30 chances with the man advantage in the opening round.

MATCHUP

The Canadiens and Pens have met just once before in the playoffs and that was back in the opening round of the 1998 postseason when Montreal notched a six- game series victory.

The Penguins won three of four against the Habs during the regular-season series. Pittsburgh took the first three encounters by a combined 12-4 margin before Montreal avoided the season sweep with a 5-3 home victory on Feb. 6.

Crosby and Guerin led the way in the season series with six points each for the Pens, while Gonchar and Malkin both added four points. Gionta and Plekanec paced Montreal with four points apiece.

Fleury was stellar overall in the season series, going 3-1 with a 2.11 GAA against the Habs. However, he is 9-6-1 with a bloated 3.47 GAA and .886 save percentage in 17 career games versus Montreal.

Halak's only two career outings against Pittsburgh came this year. He was 1-1 and allowed a total of seven goals on 44 shots.

Montreal's defense gave the Caps fits in the first round and the Canadiens will cause some matchup problems for the Penguins in the conference semis, but not enough to knock the defending champions off the catbird seat.

Pittsburgh may struggle early in this set, but either Crosby or Malkin, or both, will eventually find a way to get the Pens back to the conference finals for a third straight year.

Sportsbook Betting Lines predicted outcome: Penguins in 6