Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Chicago Blackhawks: Preview, Prediction, Picks & Odds - 11/20/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: United Center, Chicago, IL

Where to watch: NBCSCH, ATTSN-PT

DraftKings: Penguins -190, Blackhawks +160

FanDuel: Penguins -205, Blackhawks +168

BetMGM: Penguins -200, Blackhawks +165

Caesars: Penguins -195, Blackhawks +160

Penguins: 8-7-3

Blackhawks: 6-8-3

Penguins: won 3-0 at Jets on Saturday

Blackhawks: lost 6-1 at Bruins on Saturday

Tristan Jarry probably needed that one. And given how the Pittsburgh Penguins have kind of skated on by throughout the start of the season, maybe the Pittsburgh Penguins needed that game as well. Jarry made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season and the Penguins beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 on Saturday. On short travel, the Penguins will now hit the road to face the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday who had about as bad of an effort on Saturday you could have possibly imagined.

First with the good. Sidney Crosby had two assists for the Penguins, who suddenly now have points in five of their last six games with four of them being wins. The Jets came into this game having won five of six led by star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and they much revived offense in Winnipeg.

But there are days where you just chalk it up to the opposing goalie, and it's not like Pittsburgh net minder is a slouch. He is good, and when his team plays with the capability that we know that it can play to, Jerry is probably one of the top ten goalies in the league.

Jason Zucker also got on the board in this game, which seems like a bizarre way to remember that you are actually still playing hockey and are not retired. Jake Guenzel also scored an empty net goal, so everything is going right in the world of the Penguins.

Pittsburgh absolutely needed this win for its confidence, especially after losing so many it has over the first month or so. Winnipeg is a very strong team, and has started to get going offensively. For Pittsburgh to hold them off the scoresheet is quite remarkable when you look at it in the grand scheme of things.

As for the Blackhawks, well, they're a team. Chicago, playing in Boston, lost 6-1 to the best team in hockey. The Bruins absolutely crushed them, and Jonathan Toews scored the lone goal. Petr Mrazek, whose return was supposed to signal some sort of revival for the struggling Blackhawks, made 35 saves. Which means if you do the math, you will see that the Bruins put up 41 shots on Chicago. Considering the fact that Boston only saw 18 shots in this game, you can absolutely make the determination as to what in the world happened in this game and who dominated from start to finish.

Normally if you are the home team on a back-to-back with the opposing team also won back-to-back, you would feel very good about Chicago in this game. But the Penguins are a much more experienced team and the Penguins are a much more dedicated team defensively to the point where Chicago will not have any excuses and what happens in this game. Penguins win 3-1

Blackhawks are 6-16 at home when playing a second game in 5 days the last 2 seasons.

Penguins are 56-50 ATS the last 2 seasons.

Blackhawks are 66-68 after losing eight or more of their last 10 since 1996.

Penguins:

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust

Brock McGinn -- Jeff Carter -- Danton Heinen

Ryan Poehling -- Teddy Blueger -- Josh Archibald

Marcus Pettersson -- Kris Letang

Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Jeff Petry

Brian Dumoulin -- Jan Rutta

Casey DeSmith

Blackhawks:

Philipp Kurashev -- Max Domi -- Patrick Kane

Andreas Athanasiou -- Jonathan Toews -- Taylor Raddysh

MacKenzie Entwistle -- Jason Dickinson -- Sam Lafferty

Reese Johnson -- Jujhar Khaira -- Colin Blackwell

Jarred Tinordi -- Connor Murphy

Jack Johnson -- Jake McCabe

Filip Roos -- Ian Mitchell

Arvid Soderblom

Points: Sidney Crosby -- 23

Goals: Jake Guentzel -- 10

Assists: Sidney Crosby -- 14

Goalie: Tristan Jarry -- 5-3-2, 3.60 GAA, .895 SV%

Points: Patrick Kane -- 13

Goals: Jonathan Toews -- 8

Assists: Patrick Kane -- 11

Goalie: Alex Stalock -- 3-2-1, 2.93 GAA, .914 SV%