Vegas Play of the Day: Penguins at Blue Jackets

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Eric Risberg / AP

San Jose Sharks right wing Joonas Donskoi, left, from Finland, scores the winning goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, June 4, 2016, during overtime of Game 3 in the NHL Stanley Cup Finals in San Jose, Calif. The Sharks won 3-2.

Sun, Apr 16, 2017 (10:19 a.m.)

We’ve entered the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.

Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.

Pittsburgh Penguins plus-105 at Columbus Blue Jackets: $1000 to win $1050

The first time I laid eyes on this line I nearly fell out of my chair and onto the sportsbook floor.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have thrashed the Blue Jackets for two straight games, and Sidney Crosby might be playing the best hockey of his entire career. In the two games in Pittsburgh, the Penguins outscored the Blue Jackets by a combined 7-1.

Crosby, the NHL’s leading goal-scorer during the regular season, already has a goal and two assists for the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and he won’t be bothered by leaving the friendly confines of PPG Paints Arena. Crosby scored 22 goals on the road this season to match his 22 goals at home.

The obvious reason for the defending champions being the underdog in this one, is the thought that Columbus will play better at home and make this a series, but I’m not so sure that will be the case. The Blue Jackets will be without forward Matt Calvert after he was suspended for a wicked cross-check to the back of the neck of Pittsburgh’s Tom Kuhnhackl in game two.

I might just make it a rule to bet the Penguins any time they are underdogs during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Current Standings: Keefer (41-35-3, $8,307), Grimala (7-11, $8,233), Brewer (29-28-1, $7,985), Granger (13-18-1, $6,677)

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