Capitals Favored Over Shorthanded Penguins

If you can’t beat them, hurt them. At least that’s the belief some fans have after Sidney Crosby sustained a concussion in last night’s game with Washington. Crosby was injured on a play that Washington’s Matt Niskanen was handed a 5-minute major penalty and game misconduct. And he wasn’t the only Penguin to suffer a concussion in the game. Conor Sheary was concussed by Patric Hornqvist, his own teammate who went to throw an elbow at Lars Eller. Unfortunately, he missed and took out his own teammate

Crosby is going to miss Game 4. That much is a given. Whether he misses more time than that will be determined by his recovery. But oddsmakers weren’t taking any chances, as the Capitals are now -125 in Game 4 and the series odds have tumbled. The Penguins are now just -128 to win the series and the Capitals are +108.

Many fans were calling for suspensions of Niskanen or Alex Ovechkin, who slashed Crosby before the crosscheck by Niskanen. As expected, there has been plenty of bickering between fans of both teams. But a poll of general managers showed that 7 of 23 asked felt a suspension was needed and the league said no suspension is coming.

The Penguins were already without Kris Letang and Matt Murray and now will be down two more players Wednesday. But the Penguins still have plenty of talent with Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel and they’ve won Cups with Marc Andre-Fleury. You can’t count them out even if it doesn’t look all that good at the moment.

Those who bet the Penguins to win the series before it started have a chance to buy their bet back and lock in a profit without having to sweat out the end of the series. While it will take out a bit of the excitment, it will also guarantee a small profit, which is the main thing.