Penguins vs. Capitals, NHL playoff 2016 odds: Pittsburgh an underdog in potential clincher

Pittsburgh is a +130 road underdog in Game 5 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Washington is favored by the biggest line it has been all series going off at -150 at home to stave off elimination.

Through the first four games of this series, every game has been decided by one goal and two of the games have gone to overtime. But for as evenly-matched as the series may look according to the statistics, Pittsburgh is ahead on the scoreboard with a 3-1 series lead coming off back-to-back 3-2 wins at home.

The Capitals haven’t been able to find an answer to Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, who has stopped 104 of Washington’s 109 shots over the last three games for a .954 save percentage.

The Penguins’ late regular season success has carried over into the playoffs with a 7-2 postseason record including a 3-1 record on the road per the OddsShark NHL Database.

The Capitals were the better team in Game 3 by most measures and played well enough to win in Game 4, but a bad bounce that led to Pittsburgh’s game winning goal in overtime put the team on the brink of elimination.

With the best record in hockey this regular season at 56-18-8, Washington is no stranger to long winning streaks, but it no longer has any room for error. The Capitals are just 3-5 in their last eight games at home.

Saturday’s total is set at five goals. The OVER is 3-1-2 in the last six games between these two rivals.

All four games in this series could have arguably gone either way, but Pittsburgh has made its own luck with strong goaltending and timely goals. The Penguins saw a 3-1 series lead in the second round slip away back in 2014 against the New York Rangers, and they’ll need to stay focused to make sure that it doesn’t happen again this year.