Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, NHL Odds
Two modern legends of the game will renew their rivalry on Sunday when Alex Ovechkin leads the Washington Capitals into Pittsburgh to face Sidney Crosby and the Penguins for the first of eight meetings, this season.
Pittsburgh originally opened as the favourite on the NHL odds, but the line has quickly shifted to the Capitals with the opening total of 7.5 dropping to 6.
Capitals vs. Penguins Betting Analysis
Washington got the better of the Penguins, last season, with the Capitals winning two of three meetings, including the last two. Crosby finished the season series with two goals and two assists, while Ovechkin was held pointless and was -2 over the three games.
Washington has hit the over in six of their last nine games in Pittsburgh, while overall, the total has gone over in the last four games and five of the last seven games between these teams.
Although Pittsburgh is still looking for their first win of the season, after dropping a two game series to the Flyers, there’s been no shortage of scoring for the Penguins. Pittsburgh has hit the over in both of their games, this season, and six of their last nine games overall, including five of their last seven home games.
Washington Capitals
New coach Peter Laviolette has Washington looking to start the season with three straight wins for the first time in ten years, after the Capitals picked up two wins in Buffalo. Washington didn’t necessarily outplay the Sabres, but they did get a little bit better goaltending, with Ilya Samsonov making 22 saves in Thursday’s 6-4 win and Vitek Vanecek making 30 saves in Friday’s 2-1 win. Ovechkin is continuing to chase history with his 706 career goals putting him three goals behind Mike Gartner for eighth in NHL history, although he failed to find the back of the net in Buffalo, finishing the back-to-back set with two assists.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh committed to goalie Tristan Jarry in the off-season by shipping out two-time Stanley Cup winner Matt Murray in a trade with Ottawa. It’s still very early, but the gamble hasn’t looked good, yet. Jarry has looked shaky, giving up six goals on 25 shots in Wednesday’s 6-3 loss, before getting pulled in Friday’s 5-2 loss after allowing three goals on six shots. Casey DeSmith is a fairly untested backup, but he might be relied heavily upon, until Jarry gets back to form. In 52 regular season games against Ovechkin, Crosby has scored 74 points (26 goals, 48 assists), while Ovechkin has netted 51 (30 goals, 21 assists).
WAS
PIT