7:40PM Monday
March 25, 2013

When the Pittsburgh Penguins suit up Friday night, they'll be aiming for their 11th-straight win this season. While they seem to get overshadowed in the national media by stories like the Montreal Canadiens' surprise season and the Chicago Blackhawks' record-breaking start,-the NHL oddsmakers at Bovada-aren't overlooking this team. The Pens are-now at 5-1 odds-to win the Stanley Cup, which makes them the Eastern Conference favorite, and only second in line to Chicago's 9-2 odds in the entire league.

The Pens sit atop the Eastern Conference standings and it's no surprise that Sidney Crosby is fueling his team's success. The Pens always play well when he produces, but it's worth noting that Crosby's season is not just good by his usual benchmarks - it's good by historical standards.

To date, Crosby has collected 50 points in just 31 games, giving him a 1.613 points per game average. For him, that's nothing too out of the ordinary as he finished with a 1.610 average in the 2010-11 se