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2010 Stanley Cup Playoff Picks – Senators vs. Penguins

The 7 game series between the Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins opens on Wednesday night, here’s the odds and our prediction for the series.

NHL Playoff Betting: Senators vs Penguins series preview & pick

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  • GAME 1: @Pittsburgh, Wed. 4/14, 7 p.m.
  • GAME 2: @Pittsburgh, Fri. 4/16, 7 p.m.
  • GAME 3: @Ottawa, Sun. 4/18, 6:30 p.m.
  • GAME 4: @Ottawa, Tue. 4/20, 7 p.m.
  • GAME 5*: @Pittsburgh, Thu. 4/22, 7 p.m.
  • GAME 6*: @Ottawa, Sat. 4/24, 7 p.m.
  • GAME 7*: @Pittsburgh, Tue. 4/27, 7 p.m.

The NHL playoffs begin Wednesday with the Senators and Penguins battling it out in round one for the third time in four years. Will the Pens start their playoff title defense in style or will the pesky Sens surprise?

(5) OTTAWA SENATORS vs (4) PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The Senators were supposed to flop offensively with Dany Heatley leaving town and, though they did regress slightly, Ottawa still fielded a competitive attack this season. Both Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza appeared to miss their departed linemate early on but both rallied for explosive second halves and Mike Fisher remained the model of consistency.

That said, Ottawa still had no player top 25 goals. Especially now that Alex Kovalev is lost for the season with a torn ACL, the Sens lack a go-to sniper to terrorize the Pens. Their defense is largely a stay-at-home group, though Pittsburgh will have to keep an eye on youngster Erik Karlsson, who came into his own with 14 points in his last 19 games.

But let’s be honest: Ottawa can’t hold a candle to Pittsburgh’s offense. Even though Evgeni Malkin had an off year, the Pens are still a deep group at forward. Sidney Crosby’s immense talent finally translated into goal scoring this year, as the pivot tied for the league lead with 51 goals. Thanks to solid support from guys like Bill Guerin, Alex Ponikarovsky and Jordan Staal, the Pens have plenty of weapons. And that doesn’t even factor in their offensively minded defenders like Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang.

The Sens have decent size and toughness on “D” with guys like Andy Sutton, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. Minus the experience, they actually remind me of Pittsburgh’s cup-winning group from a year ago. The Pens aren’t nearly as tough on the back end as they were in 2009 but they have an experienced group with good skating and Brooks Orpik alone has the grit of two guys. Sports Betting at Sportsbook.com

The Sens have some good two-way forwards in Fisher and Matt Cullen but few teams can match the effectiveness of Pittsburgh’s checkers. Staal, Max Talbot and Tyler Kennedy were crucial in Pittsburgh’s cup run last year and should be major factors on the forecheck and backcheck again this season.

Perhaps Pittsburgh’s clearest edge in this series is goaltending. No disrespect to Brian Elliott or Pascal Leclaire, but they’re simply not in the same league as Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens’ puckstopper isn’t consistent but Fleury has the athleticism and poise to steal a series. That’s not the case for Elliott or Leclaire.

Special teams are even on paper, with both teams boasting solid penalty killing and middle-of-the-road power plays. That said, I can’t help but wonder if the Pens were “holding” back, saving their energy for the playoffs. Last year, their power play hovered around 17 per cent and jumped over 20 in the playoffs. I could see a similar spike in crunch time this season.

The Sens did a nice job to overcome a tumultuous offseason and played good two-way hockey this season. But the road ends here for them. The Pens will have a challenge repeating as champs but the Sens aren’t part of that challenge. The real battle will come later; Pittsburgh shouldn’t have much trouble with Ottawa at all.

Prediction: Penguins in five.

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By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"

2 replies on “2010 Stanley Cup Playoff Picks – Senators vs. Penguins”

Completely disagreed…..the Sens beat the penguins twice this season, once 6-2 and another time 4-1. crosby has been contained and only gotten 2 points against us (1 goal, 1 assist). Our forecheck can be among the most aggressive in the league when we want it to be. Sutton, Carkner, Phillips and Volchenkov will take care of crosby and malkin but it won’t be necessary for them to do too much work because Spezza, Alfredsson, Fisher, Cullen, Michalek and Regin all pose very real and dangerous threats. Not to mention that with Kovalev out, Cheechoo might get the call up from Binghamton. Sens in 6

To the above user…. Sens in 6??? Keep dreaming. The Pens have holding back this season, playoffs are a different game. Pens in 4 or 5 no problem.

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