As Connor McDavid‘s and Auston Matthews‘ professional rivalry up in the North Division is leading them to become the new faces of the NHL , Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin will get a chance to remind fans of their own legendary rivalry when the Pittsburgh Penguins head to Washington to face the Capitals on Tuesday.

This game is essential a tossup with the Capitals technically the favourite to win on the NHL odds at -119.  The total is set at 6.5.

Penguins vs. Capitals Betting Analysis

Even though Pittsburgh has won three of four meetings between these teams this season, it has been an extremely competitive series up to this point.  Two of the Pens’ wins came in extra time (one OT win, one shootout) and only one of the four games was decided by more than two goals.

Crosby just seems to know how to find a way to win, regardless of the circumstances.  He is probably the biggest reason why the Pens have won seven of the last 11 games in this series.  If you’re planning to back Pittsburgh, however, keep in mind they have only covered in one of eight road games this season and they are 3-13 against the spread overall.

One thing you can be fairly confident in with Washington, especially when Ovechkin is in the lineup, is goal scoring.  The Caps have hit the Over in seven of their last eight games against Pittsburgh and 10 of 15 games overall this season.  Washington is 10-7 ATS so far, covering in six of 10 home games.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Pens are coming into this game after sweeping their two-game set with the New York Islanders on Thursday and Saturday.  Although Evegni Malkin had three points (all assists) in those games, he’s been struggling this season and people are starting to wonder if this is the start of the 34-year-old’s decline.  Malkin has 10 points in 16 games (3G, 7A), but hasn’t been producing consistent scoring chances.  With his first multi-point game of the season on Thursday and a solid 10 shots in his last three games, fans in Pittsburgh are hoping the slow start has just been a blip on the radar for Malkin.

Injuries have been hitting some of Pittsburgh key depth players.  Despite skating on Monday (albeit separately from the main team) Jared McCann, Evan Rodrigues and Brian Dumoulin have all been ruled out for Tuesday.  McCann looks like he’ll be back soon, as he is travelling with the team for their four-game road trip, but Dumoulin and Rodrigues look like they’ll both still miss significant time.

Washington Capitals

When you hit the age of 33 in the NHL, the best you can typically hope for is to not have a large decline.  For Nicklas Backstrom, however, he is having the best start to the season of his career.  Backstrom is Washington’s leading scorer by far, with 22 points (8G, 14A) in 17 games, including two assists in the Caps’ 4-3 win over New Jersey on Sunday.  He is tied for seventh in the NHL for points and his 22 points are the most he’s ever had through his first 17 games of a season.

You could probably be forgiven for forgetting veteran goalie Craig Anderson is now with the Caps, as he just started his first game of the season on Sunday.  In his Washington debut, Anderson stopped 23 of 26 shots for his 290th career win and his first start in 347 days.  Don’t expect Anderson to steal the starters role from Vitek Vanecek, but he should provide much needed depth between the pipes and also serve as a valuable mentor to the rookie goalie.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Penguins vs. Capitals?

• Regular Season

Penguins Team Leaders

PIT

Points	Jake Guentzel 16
+ / -	Kasperi Kapanen 7
Shots	Bryan Rust 65
Penalty Mins	Chad Ruhwedel 14
Wins	Tristan Jarry 6
GAA	Casey DeSmith 2.84

WAS

Points	Nicklas Backstrom 24
+ / -	Justin Schultz 9
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 55
Penalty Mins	Brenden Dillon 16
Wins	Vitek Vanecek 8
GAA	Vitek Vanecek 2.86

• Regular Season

Capitals Team Leaders

PIT

Points	Jake Guentzel 16
+ / -	Kasperi Kapanen 7
Shots	Bryan Rust 65
Penalty Mins	Chad Ruhwedel 14
Wins	Tristan Jarry 6
GAA	Casey DeSmith 2.84

WAS

Points	Nicklas Backstrom 24
+ / -	Justin Schultz 9
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 55
Penalty Mins	Brenden Dillon 16
Wins	Vitek Vanecek 8
GAA	Vitek Vanecek 2.86

Injuries

Pittsburgh

Kris Letang (D)

Ques Thurs Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21

Jason Zucker (LW)

Out indefinitely Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21

Casey DeSmith (G)

Ques Tues Illness - 14 / 02 / 21

Evgeni Malkin (C)

Prob Thurs Eye - 11 / 02 / 21

Mike Matheson (D)

Ques Thurs Undisclosed - 08 / 02 / 21

Jared McCann (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21

John Marino (D)

Out indefinitely Illness - 03 / 02 / 21

Kris Letang (D)

Ques Sat Lower Body - 30 / 01 / 21

John Marino (D)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21

Yannick Weber (D)

Ques Sat Personal - 28 / 01 / 21

Washington

T.J. Oshie (RW)

Ques Sun Upper Body - 07 / 02 / 21

Conor Sheary (LW)

Prob Sun Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21

Jakub Vrana (LW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 06 / 02 / 21

Nick Jensen (D)

Ques Sat Face - 30 / 01 / 21

Justin Schultz (D)

Prob Sun Face - 29 / 01 / 21

Brian Pinho (C)

Out indefinitely Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21

Nicklas Backstrom (C)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 26 / 01 / 21

Lars Eller (C)

Prob Sun Upper Body - 26 / 01 / 21

Tom Wilson (RW)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 23 / 01 / 21

Evgeny Kuznetsov (C)

Prob Sun Illness - 20 / 01 / 21

Injuries

Pittsburgh

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Kris Letang (D)	Ques Thurs	Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21	1-1	1-1	+ -
Letang was forced from the last game with an unspecified ailment, and it is unclear if he will be available for Thursday's tilt with the Capitals.
Jason Zucker (LW)	Out indefinitely	Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21	1-1	1-1	+ -
Zucker has been assigned to the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.
Casey DeSmith (G)	Ques Tues	Illness - 14 / 02 / 21	3-4	3-4	+ -
DeSmith missed the last game due to an illness, and it is unclear if he will play against Capitals on Tuesday.
Evgeni Malkin (C)	Prob Thurs	Eye - 11 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
Malkin is dealing with an eye injury, but he is expected to be in the line up Thursday versus the Islanders.
Mike Matheson (D)	Ques Thurs	Undisclosed - 08 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
Matheson is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and is is unknown if he will play Thursday versus the Islanders.
Jared McCann (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
McCann has landed on the injured reserve list due to a lower-body injury, and it is unknown when he will return to the ice.
John Marino (D)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 03 / 02 / 21	3-6	4-5	+ -
Marino has been added to the COVID-19 Protocol list, and it is unknown how long it will take him to get cleared.
Kris Letang (D)	Ques Sat	Lower Body - 30 / 01 / 21	3-8	5-6	+ -
Letang was held out of the previous game with a lower-body injury, and it is unknown if he will face the Islanders on Saturday.
John Marino (D)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21	4-8	5-7	+ -
Marino sustained an unspecified injury in the previous game, but it is likely that he will face the Bruins on Thursday.
Yannick Weber (D)	Ques Sat	Personal - 28 / 01 / 21	4-8	5-7	+ -
Weber missed the previous game due to travel complications, and it is unknown if he will be available against the Rangers on Saturday.

Washington

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
T.J. Oshie (RW)	Ques Sun	Upper Body - 07 / 02 / 21	3-6	4-5	+ -
Oshie missed the previous game with an upper-body injury, and it is unknown if he will play against the Penguins on Sunday.
Conor Sheary (LW)	Prob Sun	Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21	3-6	4-5	+ -
Sheary is nursing a lower-body injury, but he is projected to be available for Sunday's matchup versus the Flyers.
Jakub Vrana (LW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 06 / 02 / 21	3-6	4-5	+ -
Vrana has been assigned to the COVID-19 Protocol list, and there is no timetable for return.
Nick Jensen (D)	Ques Sat	Face - 30 / 01 / 21	5-7	7-5	+ -
Jensen exited the previous contest with a facial injury, and it has yet to be established if he will be active for Saturday's showdown against the Bruins.
Justin Schultz (D)	Prob Sun	Face - 29 / 01 / 21	5-7	7-5	+ -
Schultz has been held out of the previous three games with a facial injury, but it is likely that he will take part in Sunday's tilt versus the Penguins.
Brian Pinho (C)	Out indefinitely	Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21	6-7	7-6	+ -
Pinho is out of commission due to an unknown injury, and it is unknown how long he will be debilitated.
Nicklas Backstrom (C)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 26 / 01 / 21	7-7	8-6	+ -
Backstrom left the last game due to an unspecified reason, but he is expected to suit up for Thursday's tilt versus the Islanders.
Lars Eller (C)	Prob Sun	Upper Body - 26 / 01 / 21	7-7	8-6	+ -
Eller has sat out the previous four games due to an upper-body injury, but he is likely to suit up against the Flyers on Sunday.
Tom Wilson (RW)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 23 / 01 / 21	8-7	9-6	+ -
Wilson has been held out of the past two games with a lower-body injury, and it is unknown if he will suit up Thursday against the Islanders.
Evgeny Kuznetsov (C)	Prob Sun	Illness - 20 / 01 / 21	9-7	10-6	+ -
Kuznetov has been designated for the COVID-19 Protocol list, but it is anticipated that he will return Sunday versus the Penguins.