Penguins Boast Balanced Attack in Crosby’s Absence

The Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t missed a beat with their captain on the sidelines – and they’ll look to keep the point party going Wednesday night as they host the Vancouver Canucks. The Penguins are 3-1-3 in seven games since losing Sidney Crosby to injury, and are as offensively potent as they were with him in the fold as they wrap up a three-game homestand.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Penguins opened as -149 favorites but it didn’t take long for bettors to push that number all the way into the mid-160s at some books. Pittsburgh is 2-3 SU this season as a favorite of -160 or higher.

Vancouver News & Notes

The Canucks’ six-game road trip has had a little bit of everything through the first four contests: A blowout loss, a one-sided win, a narrow regulation defeat and a shootout victory. But one thing is clear: The goalie duo of Jacob Markstrom and Thatcher Demko appears to be back on track, allowing six goals in three games following a three-game stretch in which it was beaten 15 times.

But overall, it has been a challenging month for Vancouver, which comes into Wednesday ranked 27th in the league in goals per game in November (2.38) – and 5-on-5 play has been a major trouble spot over that stretch. Nearly half of the Canucks’ goals so far this month (14 out of 31) have come on the power play, with their 16 even-strength goals ranking last overall.

Pittsburgh News & Notes

Perhaps the simplest way for the Penguins to overcome the loss of Crosby – who is expected to miss several more weeks as he recovers from core muscle surgery – is to just keep shooting. Pittsburgh has averaged 35 shots on goal in the seven games it has played without Crosby, second only to the Nashville Predators over that span.

That shot-heavy approach has resulted in the Penguins using a balanced scoring effort to overcome the loss of the man who had led the team in scoring at the time of his injury. Eight different Pittsburgh skaters have recorded at least five points in the past seven games, led by Evgeni Malkin with eight and Jake Guentzel and Dominik Kahun with seven apiece.

Betting Pick: Pittsburgh -1.5

The end of a long road trip is nigh for the Canucks, and with the Penguins rolling three dangerous lines at the moment, it’s hard to see Vancouver staying competitive.