Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers – 4/13/18 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The Penguins certainly weren’t showing any sympathy, let alone mercy on the opening night of their quest for a Cup three-peat.

Sidney Crosby notched a natural hat trick as the Pittsburgh Penguins trounced the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 in Game 1 of their first-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.

Yes, we know the Flyers were single-handily obliterated by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday in the opening game of Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“It’s one of the worst games I’ve been a part of”, Giroux said.

“Whether it’s 7-0 or 1-0 in double overtime, it’s one game”, Crosby said.

It may not matter who is in goal because the Penguins have torched whomever the Flyers have used this season, scoring 27 goals in five games, including five tallies in each of the four regular-season matchups. Save for a 10-minute span to start the second period of Game 1, the Flyers were absolutely brutal in every aspect.

After the game, Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said he sees no reason why the team would make a change in net for Game 2.

After the game, Hakstol said his gut instinct was to come back with Elliott on Friday. Elliott was 23-11-7 with a 2.66 GAA and.909 save percentage in 43 games.

“We’ve got to play better and play with a little bit more attitude”, Giroux said. Philadelphia’s power play went 0 for 4 and didn’t even generate a shot.

“I think it just proves that we can beat them”, Pittsburgh’s Conor Sheary said. Netminder Brian Elliott was pulled after allowing five goals on just 19 shots while Petr Mrazek didn’t fare much better with two goals allowed on 14 shots. Bryan Rust and Carl Hagelin also scored.

Snatching up the win in game one was Matt Murray, who stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the game for his 5th career playoff shutout.

The Flyers just need to improve in some – OK, tons – of areas.

In order to get there, the Penguins will have to beat a veteran Philadelphia Flyers team.

Fans of the 15 National Hockey League teams that did not qualify for the post-season are now trying to decide which team they will cheer for. He is still the unquestioned leader of the Penguins and as long as he is rolling, Pittsburgh will have a chance in the postseason. He’s still recovering from its effects, even as he’s coming off an embarrassing Game 1 playoff loss to the Penguins and is preliminarily slated to start Game 2 Friday night.

All that before Crosby got involved.

In addition to predicting a Smythe Trophy (playoffs MVP) for Laine, the simulation calls for him to score 15 goals and tally 24 points overall.

Nashville carries a deep attack, with six players earning 50 or more points in the regular season, including Filip Forsberg, who had 26 goals and 38 assists.

NOTES: Crosby’s hat trick tied Pittsburgh owner and Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux for the most postseason hat tricks in franchise history. The 2017-2018 regular season was filled with storylines, surprises and seven teams who will participate in this year’s playoffs that did not make the playoffs last year. He was back on the ice for the third time since his latest lower-body injury…

On the other side of the rink, Philadelphia is 42-41 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.5 units for bettors taking the moneyline this year.

Shots on Goal_Philadelphia 9-10-5_24.

Power-play opportunities_Philadelphia 0 of 4; Pittsburgh 1 of 4. The season finale against the Rangers didn’t really test Elliott, and as much as the Flyers’ defense didn’t help him out, the netminder couldn’t provide the big or timely save the Flyers needed.