Penguins vs. Flyers Recap: Malkin Scores in 7-0 Rout

The Penguins blanked the Flyers 7-0 in regulation. Nick Robertson tipped in the opener at 7:26 of the 1st and Ville Koivunen made it 2-0 at 15:44 of the 1st. Pittsburgh then scored three times in the 2nd, including an Evgeni Malkin power-play goal, and added two more in the 3rd. The Penguins outshot Philadelphia 38-19. Arturs Silovs stopped all 19 shots for the shutout, while Dan Vladar made 31 saves on 38 shots. Four DARIMARKET plays cashed on this game.

What cashed

Evgeni Malkin 1+ points (-135 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Malkin had a point in 71% of his 56 games last season (64% on the road), and Pittsburgh's power play ran at 24.1% last season against a Flyers penalty kill at 77.6%. A longer shot that landed. - What happened: Malkin scored on the power play at 5:03 of the 2nd, a slap shot assisted by Hendrix Lapierre and Thomas Novak, to make it 3-0. He finished with 1 goal and 0 assists in 15:47. - Worth watching: The power-play angle is exactly how this one cashed. If Pittsburgh's power play keeps producing, his points line stays worth a look at this kind of price.

Evgeni Malkin 2+ shots on goal (-135 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Malkin put 2+ shots on goal in 71% of his games last season, and Bryan Rust is out for Pittsburgh. - What happened: He finished with exactly 2 shots on goal, clearing the line by 0.5, and one of them was the power-play goal in the 2nd. - Worth watching: He did it in 15:47 with only 1:58 of power-play time, so there is not much cushion. Watch his minutes before backing the shots line again.

Rickard Rakell 1+ points (-130 at DraftKings): CASHED - Our read: Rakell had a point in 60% of games last season and 80% over his final 20, and Rust is on injured reserve. A longer shot that landed. - What happened: It came late. Rakell picked up an assist on Egor Chinakhov's power-play tip-in at 16:37 of the 3rd, the final goal of the night. He finished with 0 goals, 1 assist and 2 shots on goal in 18:32, including 4:52 on the power play. - Worth watching: Nearly five minutes of power-play time is the real signal here. With Rust out, that role keeps his points line in play.

ALT: Under 7.5 total goals (alt): CASHED - Our read: 9 of the last 10 Penguins-Flyers games, including the 6-game playoff series, finished with 7 or fewer goals, and Vladar stopped all 42 shots in the series clincher. - What happened: 7 total goals, 0.5 under the line. The seventh goal was Chinakhov's power-play tip-in at 16:37 of the 3rd, and nothing else went in over the final minutes. - Worth watching: This one landed right on the edge. The extra goal of room on the alt line is what made it, so the cushion is worth paying for on unders in this matchup.

How the game played out

Pittsburgh controlled the shot count and never let Philadelphia settle in. The Penguins scored twice on four power plays and added a shorthanded goal from Robertson at 11:52 of the 3rd, while the Flyers came up empty on three power plays. Philadelphia won 62.1 percent of the faceoffs and threw 28 hits, but managed only 19 shots on goal and turned the puck over 21 times.

Trends to watch

• Pittsburgh's power play: two power-play goals, from Malkin and Chinakhov. Rakell logged 4:52 on the power play to Malkin's 1:58.
• Silovs: a 19-save shutout behind a team that held Philadelphia to 19 shots. Low-volume nights like this cap the save count even in a clean sheet.
• Philadelphia's puck management: 21 giveaways against 11 for Pittsburgh, on a night the Flyers managed 19 shots on goal.

Stats are from the ESPN box score. More on the NHL hub and in our NHL recaps. Here is how a total works if you are new to betting goals.