The Pittsburgh Penguins (20-13-6) have just ended a bad losing streak and hope to start building a winning run on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks (17-19-3).
The Canucks are having a difficult season, but they can score goals for fun and a high-scoring affair is also expected in this match-up. Bookmaker Bovada has the goals total set at 6.5 with the odds for the over at -125 and for the under at +105.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: January 10th, 9:30 A.M. (EST)
Pittsburgh is having a strange season as the team continues to blow hot and cold. Sidney Crosby & Co. already had a seven-game losing streak earlier in the campaign before recently going six games without a win, but there was also a seven-game winning spell in December. After beating Arizona 4-1 on Sunday, the Penguins fans will be hoping that the team can now start another positive period.
The Penguins are full of offensive talent but scoring has been a problem for them lately. Before hitting four against the Coyotes, the team had managed just five goals in total across the previous three outings. Going forward, Crosby will definitely have to do better with his crew in the scoring department.
Even at 35, the Penguins No. 87 continues to make things look easy on the ice and has racked up 47 points in 39 appearances this season. Crosby has had multi-point efforts in both of the last two games. Could we currently be witnessing the start of a big scoring tear for the star player?
Crosby rarely tends to struggle in any match-up, but the meetings with Vancouver haven’t gone too well during his career. The Canucks are one of only four teams in the league against whom Crosby hasn’t averaged at least a point per game. He is also carrying a career-worst minus-nine rating in the match-up.
The nine-time All-Star will be eager to improve his numbers on Tuesday, but he has to do it against a team that is averaging 3.38 goals per game. If it wasn’t for defensive woes, the Canucks would be among the top dogs in the leagues and their 17-19-3 record is definitely deceiving.
In Bo Horvat, Vancouver has one of the best goal-scorers in the league and there are five players in total on the roster who average at least a point per game or are near the pace. Elias Pettersson leads the pack. It’s been a truly special campaign for him as the Swedish forward has tallied 47 points in 37 games.
