Sharks vs. Penguins 2016 odds: Pittsburgh Game 5 betting favorite with the Stanley Cup in sight

Pittsburgh is a -160 home favorite for Game 5 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Sharks will try to stave off elimination as a +140 underdog.

For the first time in the team’s last 13 games, the Penguins did not outshoot their opponent on Monday night in Game 4. It was just the fifth time in 22 playoff games that the Penguins haven’t had more shots than their opponent, and Pittsburgh is 5-0 in those games after defeating the Sharks 3-1.

Coming off a shaky performance in Game 3, Matt Murray was masterful in net for the Penguins in Game 4, stopping 23 of the 24 shots that he faced to help bring the Penguins to within one win of a championship.

The Penguins are 25-7 in their last 32 games at home per the OddsShark NHL Database. That home record includes a 9-3 mark in the postseason.

The Sharks played a tight-checking game on Monday, holding the Penguins to only 20 shots and getting their share of scoring chances. But when push comes to shove, Pittsburgh’s top players have outperformed San Jose’s top players.

Joe Pavelski hasn’t recorded a point in this series, and Logan Couture, Brent Burns and Joe Thornton are still all looking for their first goal in the final as well. San Jose is 2-6 in its last eight road games.

Thursday night’s total is set at five goals. The UNDER has gone a perfect 4-0 in this series with the line set at 5.5 goals, prompting the change in the line for Game 5.

By taking a 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final, Pittsburgh has earned itself three chances to eliminate the Sharks. Of the 32 teams in NHL history to fall behind 3-1 in a Stanley Cup Final, only one has come back to win the series.

The Sharks have no choice but to take it one game at a time at this point, and their improbable task starts on Thursday in Pittsburgh.