Stanley Cup Odds 2016: Penguins Favored To Close Out Series Vs. Sharks
The Pittsburgh Penguins are just one win away from claiming their first Stanley Cup since 2009 and they’ll look to do so at home for Game 5 of their Stanley Cup Final matchup with the San Jose Sharks as clear -155 betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Pittsburgh claimed a three-games-to-one series lead with a 3-1 win in Game 4 on Monday, and has now allowed just 10 goals in its past six contests leading up to Thursday night’s Sharks vs. Penguins betting matchup at Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins’ solid performance continues a dominant stretch that began almost three months ago. Pittsburgh went going 14-2 in its final 16 regular-season games followed by a 15-7 march through the playoffs, suffering back-to-back losses just once since mid-January.
With just 60 minutes separating the Penguins from their fourth Stanley Cup win in franchise history, Pittsburgh has soared on the NHL series prices to heavy -1400 betting favorites.
The Penguins also have history on their side, as no team has bounced back from a 3-1 deficit to win in the Stanley Cup Final since the Toronto Maple Leafs became the sole club to accomplish the feat 75 years ago.
With their backs placed squarely against the wall, the Sharks travel to the Steel City as +130 underdogs in Game 5, and have tumbled to a distant +700 on the NHL series prices.
The Stanley Cup Final has been massively disappointing for San Jose, which twice defied the oddsmakers during these playoffs with series victories over the Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues to challenge for the championship for the first time in its 25-year history.
The Sharks now face the daunting task of handing the Penguins their first three-game losing streak since early December and must find a way to reverse their current slide against Pittsburgh. San Jose has lost five of its past seven meetings against the Pens, scoring just 13 goals in that stretch.
San Jose has enjoyed little success in recent visits to Pittsburgh, earning a win in just one of its past five and failing to record consecutive visits since 2002.
After the puck total finished over in a combined seven straight games to wrap up the two conference final series, things have tightened up, with the under paying out in each of the four games so far in the Stanley Cup Final.
The under is 7-1 in the past eight meetings between these clubs, according to the OddsShark NHL Database, pushing the total down to five goals Thursday for a second straight game.
Thumbnail photo via Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports Images
