Thursday’s “First Call” shows how long the odds are against the Pittsburgh Steelers making the playoffs. A Pitt product may be kicking for the Cleveland Browns against the Steelers on Monday. And familiar names dot the scoresheets in some NHL games that were actually able to be played on Wednesday.
Ye of little faith
The odds of the Steelers making the playoffs may be an even longer shot than you expected.
According to BetOnline.ag, the Steelers are a 6/1 (+600) shot to make the postseason. It’s a 1/12 bet (-1200) to miss the postseason. Those odds imply a 92.3% chance the team won’t make the playoffs.
The preseason odds had a +135 payout for the Steelers to make the playoffs. And just a -165 return if they missed.
If you are feeling bold, you can even bet if the Steelers will finally score a first half touchdown. The Steelers have not scored an offensive first half TD in the past five games.
However, the odds infer that they will Monday night against the Cleveland Browns. It’s just a -300 return (1/3) that Ben Roethlisberger and company find the end zone. If you are betting that streak to continue, it’s a 2/1 bet (+200) that they go into halftime without scoring.
Blewitt to the Browns
Browns kicker Chase McLaughlin is on the reserve/covid-19 list.
So the franchise added ex-Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt to their practice squad. The Browns turned to practice squad kicker Chris Naggar against the Green Bay Packers with McLaughlin out. Naggar missed his first extra-point try forcing the team to go for two points after their following touchdown, which also failed.
On Wednesday, the Browns tried out kickers Robert Aguayo and Chandler Catanzaro, along with Blewitt.
Blewitt has only made two of his five field goal attempts in the NFL while making both of his extra points.
On the prowl
Not much hockey is going on these days, but enough for former Penguins prospect Ethan Prow.
The defenseman scored in his first NHL game with the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Ex-Penguins prospect Ethan Prow scores in his NHL debut. https://t.co/A9q2iSyqMw
— Seth Rorabaugh (@SethRorabaugh) December 30, 2021
That goal cut the New Jersey Devils’ lead to 4-3 in the third. But they’d get no closer, as the Devils won by that margin. That was Prow’s lone shot of the game. He also had two blocks and two hits.
The 29-year-old spent the majority of three seasons with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He totaled 84 points in 178 AHL games. Prow’s last season as a Penguin was his best, when he was tops on the squad with 50 points in 2018-19.
One year later, Prow tallied 32 points in 42 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds in 2019-20. The blueliner played for Munich EHC in Germany’s DEL in 2020-21 before returning to North America with the Rochester Americans this season.
Familiar friends
A pair of familiar names helped the Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Ducks.
Ex-Penguin Tanner Pearson beat Whitehall’s John Gibson early in the third period to tie the game 1-1.
That’s the way to start a period! pic.twitter.com/9x3aVZrFyV
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 30, 2021
Then former Pittsburgh Hornet J.T. Miller scored in overtime to win it for Vancouver. He set himself up with his own bank pass off the boards.
ALL GAS, NO BRAKES pic.twitter.com/LsHb8jSCFX
— Vancouver #Canucks (@Canucks) December 30, 2021
That was Miller’s second overtime winner this season. He also had an assist on Pearson’s goal. Pearson had seven shots in the game. Gibson stopped 35 of 37 shots overall for the Ducks. Pearson now has five goals on the season. Miller has 11 goals.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at [email protected] or via Twitter. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
