Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals Prediction, NHL Odds

Jordan Ramsay | Updated Nov 08, 2024

NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals

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Alex Ovechkin is on pace to break the all-time goal scoring record this season as he and the Washington Capitals prepare to host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.

Pittsburgh
11-12-2-2
AT
November 08, 2024, 7:30 PM ET
Capital One Arena
Washington
17-6-2
Puckline +1.5 -150
Moneyline +160
Over / Under o +7
Matchup Odds
Puckline -1.5 +125
Moneyline -190
Over / Under u +7
Matchup Odds

Few individual rivalries in NHL history have lived up to the hype of Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby and hockey fans will be treated to another Caps-Pens battle on Friday.

Washington has been one of the surprise performers early in the season and they now sit third in the Metropolitan Division following a 3-2 win against Nashville on Wednesday.

It’s been the opposite story in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins fell to seventh in the Metro with a 5-1 blowout loss against the red-hot Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

The Capitals are -165 favourites to win on the NHL odds, with the total set at 6.5.

Penguins vs. Capitals NHL Betting Odds

These teams were pretty evenly matched last year, splitting the four-game season series. Each team had one shutout and scored 11 total goals across the four matchups. Ovechkin and Crosby each had three goals in the series.

When it comes to this season, bettors have fared much better when they back the Caps and fade the Pens. Washington is a healthy 8-4 against the spread, while Pittsburgh has covered in just six of 15 games.

A couple of trends scream Washington in this game. First, the Capitals have won seven straight home games and they are 9-2 straight up in their last 11 overall. And second, Pittsburgh has lost six straight games on the road and five straight against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins heavily outshot Carolina 36-18 on Thursday, but it didn’t matter as they trailed 5-0 by the two-minute mark of the third period. Blake Lizotte eventually scored a meaningless goal as Pittsburgh picked up their eighth loss in the last 10 games. Alex Nedeljkovic was tagged for all five goals. Here’s your weird stat of the game: Crosby passed Patrice Bergeron to become the NHL’s all-time faceoff wins leader at 14,850.

With Nedljkovic playing on Thursday and Tristan Jarry still trying to find his game in the minors, it should be rookie Joel Blomqvist in net on Friday. Blomqvist is 2-4-0 with a 3.46 goals-against average and .909 save percentage this season. He has just one win over his last five starts, however, and he hasn’t played since allowing four goals on 38 shots in a 5-3 loss against Minnesota on October 29.

Washington Capitals

Ovechkin has seemingly turned back the clock, scoring in his fifth straight game on Wednesday. Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas also found the back of the net and Logan Thompson stopped 33 of 35 shots faced. Ovechkin and McMichael share the team-lead with eight goals apiece, while Dylan Strome has a team-high 19 points (4G, 15A). More significantly, OV is now sitting at 861 career goals, which puts him on pace to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal record of 894 this season.

Despite Thompson boasting a perfect 6-0-0 record, Washington will turn to Charlie Lindgren on Friday. Lindgren is 3-3-0 with a 2.70 GAA and .896 SV. He was solid in stopping 41 of 44 shots in a 4-2 loss against Carolina on Sunday, but he’s now allowed exactly three goals each in three straight games.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Penguins vs. Capitals?

NHL Predictions
SportsInteraction
  • PIT
  • +160 -190
  • WAS
Matchup NHL Odds