Sportsbooks Clean Up on Penguins as Suspicions Mount

Written by :

Don Shapiro

Published on :

12 April, 2023

The -520 price assigned to the Penquins was the highest line on any hockey game this year and should have been a "lock".

First it was the Unibet site and sportsbook in Pennsylvania going down over the weekend without any explanation given, then this happened.

Our Thomas Somach reports that the Pittsburgh Penguins needed to win last night versus Chicago Blackhawks to clinch a playoff spot.

For most, that was a "no brainer". The -520 price assigned to the Penquins was the highest line on any hockey game this year.

Pittsburgh was home and Chicago is the worst team in the league, Somach points out.

"Everyone thought it was a lock for Pittsburgh and the odds skyrocketed to -520 as tons of money obviously was pouring in on Pittsburgh," he said. "The puck line went from 1 1/2 to 2 1/2."

Somach added that the increased puck line price likely deterred a lot of bettors.

So the Penguins won that game and advance to the Playoffs, right?

WRONG.

Chicago won the game 5 to 2.

"Sportsbooks across the country cleaned up on this one as many people laid a huge price," Somach suggested.

This most certainly left Penguins bettors feeling as if they took an ice bath....and probably still are.

Odds to Win the 2023 Stanley Cup

Rot    Odds to win 2023 Stanley Cup    Moneyline
1501    Boston Bruins        +325
1502    Colorado Avalanche        +700
1503    Carolina Hurricanes        +1000
1504    Toronto Maple Leafs        +1000
1505    Tampa Bay Lightning        +1400
1506    Vegas Golden Knights        +1400
1507    Dallas Stars        +1400
1508    New Jersey Devils        +1200
1509    Edmonton Oilers        +900
1510    New York Rangers        +1200
1512    Minnesota Wild        +2200
1513    Seattle Kraken        +5000
1514    Pittsburgh Penguins        +5000
1515    Winnipeg Jets        +4000
1516    Florida Panthers        +3000
1518    Los Angeles Kings        +2200
1519    New York Islanders        +5000