The Pittsburgh Penguins are 7-2 over their last nine games, including a 3-0 start to this first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Penguins will try to close the series out on Tuesday night in Columbus.
Penguins vs. Blue Jackets 2017 odds: Pittsburgh small underdog seeking sweep of Columbus
The Pittsburgh Penguins have a commanding 3-0 series lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets heading into Game 4 of their best-of-seven first-round playoff set on Tuesday night.
Russell LaBounty-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh is going off at +100 to win Game 4 at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Columbus will try to extend its postseason as -110 home favorites.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins had the best offense in the NHL during the regular season, racking up 278 goals for a scoring clip of 3.39 goals per game. Facing the team with the second lowest goals-against average in the league this season, some were expecting Pittsburgh’s offense to be put to the test in this series.
That hasn’t been the case as the Penguins have averaged four goals per game, winning 3-1 in Game 1, 4-1 in Game 2 and 5-4 in Game 3.
With the Washington Capitals struggling with Toronto and the Chicago Blackhawks down in their series against Nashville, the defending champions are suddenly looking like the team to beat again. The Penguins are 8-4 in their last 12 postseason road games per the OddsShark NHL Database.
Betting Line / Total: Columbus -110 / 5.5 Goals
Trend: The Penguins are 8-4 in their last 12 playoff road games.
Trend: The Blue Jackets are 2-11 in their last 13 playoff games.
Columbus Blue Jackets
After taking two ugly losses in Pittsburgh, the Blue Jackets appeared to be on the right track in jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first period of Game 3. But the Penguins eventually pushed the game into overtime and scored the back-breaking goal with just under seven minutes left in the extra period.
Columbus finished fourth in the NHL in points this regular season with a 50-24-8 record, but that hasn’t helped the Blue Jackets from falling to 2-11 in their last 13 playoff games.
Tuesday night’s total is set at 5.5 goals. These two teams had played to four straight UNDER results before going OVER the total in Game 3.
Experts and fans alike were projecting this series out to be a six or seven game showdown, but so far it has been all Pittsburgh. If Columbus hopes to become the fifth team in NHL history to erase a 3-0 series deficit, it will need to start that long road on Tuesday night with a win at home.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Columbus Blue Jackets
When: Tuesday, April 18, 7:30 p.m. ET
Where: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio
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