by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Jan 18, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa, ON
Where to watch: TVAS, SN, ATTSN-PT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Penguins -130, Senators +110
FanDuel: Penguins -122, Senators +102
BetMGM: Penguins -125, Senators +105
Caesars: Penguins -125, Senators +105
Season record
Penguins: 22-15-6
Senators: 19-21-3
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Penguins - Senators preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Penguins: won 4-3 vs. Ducks (OT)
Senators: lost 2-1 at Blues
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, January 18 in Ottawa.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won against the Anaheim Ducks last Monday, January 16 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 5th in the Metropolitan Division. Jake Guentzel scored 33 seconds into overtime after Bryan Rust tied it with 25 seconds left in regulation. Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker each had a goal in regulation and Casey DeSmith made 26 saves for Pittsburgh.
"I think for us, we've been getting a lot of chances," Rust said. "We'd been pushing fairly well. How things have been going, they got a couple there in the third and instead of getting on our heels and kind of deflating, we decided to dig in. … I think we were all working for each other."
"It's huge," Guentzel said. "We need two points now. They're the same two points at the end of the year. … You just have to stay with it. That's the only way you can do it."
It’s been about as big of a struggle as you could get for the Penguins, winning only three of their last 10 games on the money line. Not to mention, they have dropped their last six against Eastern Conference teams. The under has also hit in their last two losses, meaning they’re not getting the goal production right now from the likes of the big-time players. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are trying, but it’s not turning into anything at the moment.
The Ottawa Senators lost against the St. Louis Blue last Monday, January 16 in St. Louis, Missouri with a score of 2-1. The Ottawa Senators currently rank 7th in the Atlantic Division. Tim Stutzle scored the Senators only goal of the game, and Cam Talbot made 18 saves.
"I think we played pretty well," Stutzle said. "I think we could have deserved to win tonight, but in the end, that's how it goes sometimes. I felt like we stuck with it. We played really good in the third as well, had so many opportunities to score. But in the end, if we keep playing the right way, I think there will be a lot of wins."
The Senators had 12 shots on goal in the third period, including two from forward Claude Giroux that Binnington made point-blank saves against.
"The effort was there," Ottawa coach D.J. Smith said. "Right now, the puck isn't going in for us. Going forward, we're going to have to score some goals."
Ottawa has hit a .500 run on the money line over the last 10 games despite losing four of their last five. The Senators are one of those weird teams where if they look good one day, it’s like the can make the playoffs. But when they go out and lose the likes of 7-0 to Colorado and 8-4 to the Seattle Kraken, goaltending questions are aplenty with this group. Shoutout to Cam Talbot, but something’s got to give at some point with Ottawa and it might start with Smith at some point. Time will tell.
Prediction
The Penguins have won five of the last six meetings but are just 3-7 in the last 10 in Ottawa. You really don’t know what kind of game you’re going to get at this point from the Penguins which makes them such an unpopular bet right now. The favorite, however, has cashed in 53 of the last 79 meetings, so by law of averages, Pittsburgh gets it done. Penguins 3, Senators 2
Betting trends
Senators are 6-17 at home after a non-conference game the last 2 seasons.
Senators are 3-11 at home after 2 straight non-conference games the last 2 seasons.
Penguins are 26-30 when playing a fourth game in seven days the lat 2 seasons.
Senators are 79-66 off 2 straight road losses since 1996.
Projected lines
Penguins:
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor -- Teddy Blueger -- Jeff Carter
Brock McGinn -- Jonathan Gruden -- Kasperi Kapanen
Brian Dumoulin -- Ty Smith
Marcus Pettersson -- Jan Rutta
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Chad Ruhwedel
Casey DeSmith
Senators:
Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Drake Batherson
Alex DeBrincat -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux
Parker Kelly -- Dylan Gambrell -- Mathieu Joseph
Jacob Lucchini -- Mark Kastelic -- Austin Watson
Thomas Chabot -- Travis Hamonic
Jake Sanderson -- Nick Holden
Erik Brannstrom -- Jacob Bernard-Docker
Cam Talbot
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Pittsburgh Penguins - Ottawa Senators prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
