<p>
The Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins will lace them up one last time in the Eastern Conference Finals in a Game 7 showdown this Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. Game time for this winner-take-all battle is set for 8 p.m. (ET) and it will be available nationally on NBC Sports Network.
</p>
<h2>
Ottawa at Pittsburgh Game Overview<br />
</h2>
<p>
Ottawa did what it had to do to keep this series alive by grinding out a 2-1 victory on Tuesday night in Game 6 as a +124 underdog at home. This followed a pair of losses in the previous two games by a combined score of 10-2 fueled by an embarrassing 7-0 beatdown in Game 5 as a +160 underdog on the road. The total in this series has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in four of the first six games.
</p>
<p>
To get the win on the road this Thursday night it will take a total team effort by the Senators, but more importantly it is going to take another huge effort from veteran goaltender Craig Anderson. While he has looked really shaky at times throughout this series, he came up big when he had to the most by turning away 45 of the 46 shots he faced in Game 6. Another key is the play of defenseman Erik Karlsson, who added his 14th assist this postseason on Bobby Ryan’s power play goal in the second period to tie the game at 1-1.
</p>
<div class="promo">
GET A FREE $200 VIA A 100% DEPOSIT BONUS AT <a class="advblue" href="javascript:GoTo(Intertops)" title="Intertops Sports Book">INTERTOPS</a>.
</div>
<p>
Pittsburgh had everything in its favor to close things out on Tuesday as a solid -137 road favorite, but it could not find a way to get the puck in the net following that scoring barrage in Game 5. The Penguins scored a total of just three goals in the first three games of this series and going back to their seven-game series against Washington in the conference semifinals the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in eight of the 13 games.
</p>
<p>
The goalie change to Matt Murray from Marc-Andre Fleury following Pittsburgh’s 5-1 loss to Ottawa in Game 3 has proven to be the right move. He has allowed a total of just four goals in three starts and his save percentage stands at a solid .950 after stopping 28 of the 30 shots he faced on Tuesday night. Even with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel on the offensive end of the ice, Game 7 is probably going to come down to Murray’s performance between the pipes.
</p>
<h2>
Ottawa at Pittsburgh Game Betting Trends<br />
</h2>
<ul>
<li>
The Senators are 8-3 in their last 11 games played on Thursday and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in 12 of their last 16 games following a win.
</li>
<li>
The Penguins have won five of their last six Thursday games and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in nine of their last 12 home games.
</li>
<li>
Head-to-head in this matchup, the home team has won four of the last five meetings and the total has stayed UNDER or ended as a PUSH in six of the last eight games between these two Eastern Conference foes.
</li>
</ul>