NHL Finals Odds - Wings Take Command at 2-0

NHL Finals odds were dominated by the Detroit Red Wings in the first two games of the sports betting series as they won at home by identical scores of 3-1. NHL Finals odds may heavily favor Detroit but this sports betting will resume Tuesday in Pittsburgh for game 3, where the Penguins are really tough.

Pittsburgh is 6-2 against the NHL Finals odds at home so far in the sports betting post season and obviously will be playing for their lives as a 0-3 deficit against the defending Stanley Cup champion Red Wings would be a near impossible sportsbook betting mountain to climb.

The big story so far for Detroit against the NHL Finals odds has been their ability to shut down Pittsburgh’s top two scorers, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.  Malkin scored 1 goal and 1 assist while Crosby was shutout all together in the first two games of the series.  Since Pittsburgh’s success against the NHL Finals odds is so dependent upon Crosby and Malkin the Red Wings have placed special emphasis on dominating them, as Pittsburgh has not demonstrated that they have the depth to beat the NHL Finals odds without strong production from Malkin and Crosby.

Chris Osgood is silencing many of his doubters and critics with a stellar performance in goal for the Red Wings against the NHL Finals odds.  Osgood has a post season record of 14-2 and a 1.97 goals against average.  He was near flawless in the first two games against the NHL Finals odds stopping 62 out of 64 shots.

Defense was considered Detroit’s advantage against the NHL Finals odds as they are the top ranked defensive team in the NHL playoffs.  The Red Wings have demonstrated great balance as they are also the top scoring team in the NHL post season and have proven to have greater scoring depth than Pittsburgh.   Pittsburgh’s defense ranked only 8th in the NHL post season while their offense ranked 2nd, but again is top heavy and dependent upon Malkin and Crosby.