The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers meet Sunday in game 7 of the East First Round NHL Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. The Pittsburgh Penguins look to make the second round for the first time since the 2017-18 season. The New York Rangers look to make the second round for the first time since the 2016-17 season.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are averaging 4.33 goals per game and are scoring on 22.2 percent of their power play opportunities. Jake Guentzel leads Pittsburgh with 7 goals, Sidney Crosby has 7 assists, and Evan Rodriguez has 22 shots on goal. Defensively, the Pittsburgh Penguins are allowing 4 goals per game and are killing 66.7 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Louis Domingue has allowed 19 goals on 187 shots faced, and Casey DeSmith has allowed 3 goals on 51 shots.

The New York Rangers are averaging 4 goals per game and are scoring on 33.3 percent of their power play opportunities. Chris Kreider leads New York with 4 goals, Adam Fox has 6 assists, and Ryan Strome has 26 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Rangers are allowing 4.33 goals per game and are killing 77.8 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Igor Shesterkin has allowed 22 goals on 235 shots faced, and Alexandar Georgiev has given up 2 goals on 31 shots.

The Penguins are 2-7 in their last 9 road games and 46-22 in their last 68 Sunday games. The Rangers are 29-13 in their last 42 home games and 11-3 in their last 14 Sunday games. The over is 7-0 in Penguins last 7 overall. The over is 6-0 in Rangers last 6 overall. The Penguins are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings in New York. The favorite is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.

Each of the first six games of this series have produced no less than seven goals, and the over is 24-7-3 in the last 34 meetings between these teams overall. The Pittsburgh Penguins have serious defensive issues due to injuries, and the Rangers have had no problem taking advantage of that out of nowhere. The over has hit in seven straight games for the Penguins and five of the Rangers last six home games. I’ll ride with the trends and side with the over in game seven.