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Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs NHL Picks | Preview

Its NHL betting time once again. The Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Toronto Maple Leafs is on tap tonight. Both will be trying to pick up a win with the line opening with Toronto as a -165 favorite in this matchup. The over/under is set at 5.5, here is the handicapping preview…

2011 NHL Hockey Free Predictions: Penguins vs Maple Leafs

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Pittsburgh Penguins (36-21-6) at Toronto Maple Leafs (27-27-7)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 26, 2011, 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Broadcast: CBC (HD), NHLN-US (HD), FS-P (HD)
Pens vs. Leafs Betting Lines from Bodog.com
Spread: OFF
Moneyline: Penguins +145: Leafs -165
Over/Under: 5.5 goals
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Two teams going in totally opposite directions meet on Saturday night when the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins visit the sizzling Toronto Maple Leafs. Pittsburgh has tried to fill the void left by their injured superstars through trades while the Leafs have filled the void left by the departure of some of their better players with minor league callups and better overall play from their regulars.

Pittsburgh has completely hit the skids and not even the addition of James Neal and Alex Kovalev has stopped the bleeding. It has been 22 games since the Pens had Sidney Crosby in their lineup and it is really starting to show! Pittsburgh is a miserable 2-6-2 in their last 10 games and is slowly losing their tight grip on an Eastern Conference playoff spot.

Pittsburgh, once a top 5 offense has slipped to 9th in the NHL with an average of 2.8 goals per game. In their last 10 games, they have averaged just 1.7 goals per game – no wonder they have lost eight of them! Nobody is hot on the Penguins right now Jordan Staal, Mark Hendricks and Brent Sterling have been OK but hopes are that Kovalev and Neal start to develop some chemistry soon because this team needs some scoring!

Marc-Andre Fleury has done all he can to keep the Penguins in the hunt in the Eastern Conference but he is starting to show some kinks in his amour too. Despite getting pulled in his last game against Carolina, Fleury is still elite and he is the reason why the Penguins are 5th ranked in goals against and surrender just 2.4 goals per game.

The Leafs were thought to have given up on the season – they were mired near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings and they traded away three of their better players – Thomas Kaberle, Francois Beauchemin and Chris Versteeg. Then February hit and the Leafs have gone 8-2-2.  Toronto suddenly finds themselves just six points out of a playoff spot – the wheels have to fall off some time don’t they?

Toronto has shown that they can win low scoring games and high scoring games during their recent run. Offensively, the Leafs have been led by Phil Kessel who has six goals in five games and eight points in their last four. Tyler Bozak showed a glimpse of promise on Thursday against the Canadiens and now has three points in two games. Still, the Leafs are the fourth worst team in goals for – just 2.5 per game.

Can I get me some James Reimer? Reimer has been the difference for the Leafs – period! He is 10-4-2 with a 2.24 goals against average for the Leafs this season and is 5-0-2 in his last seven. Jean-Sebastien Guigere should be back from injury on Saturday but will likely have to sit and watch how it’s done!

Betting Prediction: The Pittsburgh Penguins are 16-10-4 on the road this season and are just 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. The Toronto maple Leafs are 14-11-6 at home this season and are 4-0-1 in their last five games overall.

The Leafs play very well on Saturday nights and you can bet that the Toronto crowd will be amped to see what has turned out to be a decent product. The Penguins have added pieces but there is no way that the chemistry will be there just yet. I like the Leafs to keep the improbable run going on Saturday night.

Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs -165

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By DaveB

Dave B has been a Fantasy Football writer for us for 10 years. A couch potato wannabe, Dave’s insights have been read by 10’s of people for years. He hope’s for world peace + global relaxation. Enjoy and remember only smoke things that are completely natural.