From SportsOddsandPicks.com
NHL Playoffs
Series Best Bet
PITTSBURGH (+115) over Washington
In our Round 1 series best bets the only one we lost was when we went against the Penguins. We thought the Flyers matched up well against Pittsburgh, but after watching that series we were impressed with the Penguins toughness, particularly behind the blue line. And it’s that kind of size and muscle that will help Pittsburgh advance here against a Washington team whose top players are still young and relatively inexperienced.
We give Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau a ton of credit for benching veteran goalie Jose Theodore in favor of rookie Simeon Varlamov. It worked against the Rangers, but you simply can’t compare the kind of offensive firepower Pittsburgh brings to the table and that of the Rangers. The Penguins have the better penalty-killing unit, they’re more rested, and have more experience, especially between the pipes. In what should be an entertaining series, we expect Crosby to get the better of Ovechkin and advance to the Eastern Conference finals in six games.