Livetipsportal presents you tonight's game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Pens and the Red Wings. Detroit is actually leading the series 2-1 and is looking to restore a two wins lead, while the Pens will try to even the series at two a piece before the action goes back to Detroit on saturday.
The first three games of the series have been pretty tight. Way closer than last year at the same stage of the competition, between those very two same teams. However, the results have been the same. The Red Wings clinched both of their games on home ice, while the Pens answered with a home win in game 3. Last year, Detroit won game 4, and eventually became champion in game 6.
Although it may seem anecdotic, we may mention that Slovakian sniper Marian Hossa scored all of his 6 goals during game 4's in this year's playoffs for the Red Wings. Which means 6 goals in 3 games at this stage of a series.
But the biggest information concerning tonight's game is the return of both Kris Draper and Pavel Datsyuk in the Red Wings lineup. Draper provides a strong mix of speed, skill, and experience. He is a talented faceoff center who settles things down on the penalty kill and is highly responsible defensively. He may not be the biggest offensive threat, but his great defensive job will help Detroit to stop the firepower of the Penguins.
Datsyuk will provide a boost everywhere on the ice. The two-way center is a real offensive weapon, being a capable goalscorer and a talented playmaker, as shown by his 32 goals and 65 assists during the regular season. But he is also one of the best forwards in the league when it comes to defensive duties. He won the Selke Trophy last year (awarded to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspect of the game) and is a nominee this season again for this trophy. His +34 ratio ranked him 3rd in the league for that statistic, and he's also one if not the best player when it comes to steal the puck in opponent's sticks.
With Datsyuk back, Detroit should have a better control over the Penguins stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. And they should also off-load some icetime off of Henrik Zetterberg, who played over 24 minutes in game 3. Zetterberg did a great job in limiting Crosby to just one assist over the first three games of the Finals, but he couldn't handle Malkin at the same time, who had a goal and three assists so far in the series. Datsyuk's return would allow Detroit to shut down the two offensive threats of the Penguins, and therefore silence most of their offensive firepower. Add Draper in the mix, and they can also take care of the scoring depth of the Penguins.
Not only all of this should give a clean advantage to the Red Wings, but furthermore the bookies are offering high odds for Detroit, which makes this game an even more attractive one to bet on.
Choice: Detroit Red Wings, with an odd of 3.05 at Betsson.
