by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Jan 25, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington DC
Where to watch: NBCSWA, ATTSN-PT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: NL
FanDuel: Capitals -120, Penguins +100
BetMGM: Capitals -115, Penguins -105
Caesars: Capitals -120, Penguins +100
Season record
Penguins: 24-15-8
Capitals: 25-19-6
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 - Capitals preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Penguins: won 7-6 (OT) vs. Panthers on Tuesday
Capitals: lost 3-2 at Capitals on Tuesday
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing the Washington Capitals on Thursday, January 26 in Washington.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, January 24 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a score of 7-6 in overtime. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division. Kris Letang had two goals and two assists, including the game-winner with 54 seconds remaining in overtime.
Letang scored on a one-timer set up by Evgeni Malkin. The defenseman missed 11 games since sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 28, and was in Montreal for 15 days following the death of his father, Claude Fouquet, before returning to Pittsburgh Jan. 17.
"It was kind of surreal, you know?" Letang said. "I didn't know what to think or how it was going to go. These guys supported me for the last month. … It's just great to be back."
Sidney Crosby, Danton Heinen and Malkin each had a goal and two assists for the Penguins (24-15-8), who are 3-0-2 in their past five. Casey DeSmith made 33 saves in place of Tristan Jarry, who was a late scratch with an upper-body injury.
"It was an entertaining game, that's for sure," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think the entertainment value was off the charts. From a coaching standpoint, we would like it to be a tighter game. I know we're capable of it."
The return of Letang was incredible. Storybook, even. The Penguins have been dealt a bad hand with injuries all year long and Letang, having gone through a stroke and then what his father went through, is the ultimate unfortunate. The Penguins are 5-5 on the money line in the last 10, so they've been on .500 hockey. If this is the springboard the Penguins need, then all is good. Just don't give up 7 goals a game.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, January 24 in Denver, Colorado with a score of 3-2. The Washington Capitals currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division. Conor Sheary and Alex Ovechkin scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Capitals.
"I thought the guys played hard," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were things on the goals that I wish we did better defensively. Mistakes, not from a lack of effort, just a little bit of the details. I thought our guys showed up and attacked from the get-go. And when you're attacking like that, sometimes you leave yourself a little bit vulnerable."
"I think it's definitely something we can build off," Sheary said. "In the beginning of the second, we didn't come out to play and let them score that goal. That kind of hurt us, but overall, I think 50-55 minutes of that game we like the way we play. We controlled play, got a lot of chances, goalie made big saves at the end, and just wasn't the result [we wanted]."
Ovechkin had three shots in 23:32 after missing one game with a lower-body injury.
"I'm not going to say I was 100 percent, but I was able to play," Ovechkin said. "I think if we're going to play like that we're going to win lots of games."
The Capitals have sort of fallen off in the last 10 games, going just 4-6 on the money line with the under going 5-4-1 in that time. You can't blame not having Ovechkin for one game when this is the result. Washington needs to find some consistency if we're going to take them seriously.
Prediction
Getting back home after a five-game road trip will surely help in that regard. And it's the Penguins, which is a perfect way to get back on the winning track. It all depends on how they respond at home. Capitals 3, Penguins 2
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing the Washington Capitals on Thursday, January 26 in Washington.
The Pittsburgh Penguins won against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, January 24 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a score of 7-6 in overtime. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division. Kris Letang had two goals and two assists, including the game-winner with 54 seconds remaining in overtime.
Letang scored on a one-timer set up by Evgeni Malkin. The defenseman missed 11 games since sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 28, and was in Montreal for 15 days following the death of his father, Claude Fouquet, before returning to Pittsburgh Jan. 17.
"It was kind of surreal, you know?" Letang said. "I didn't know what to think or how it was going to go. These guys supported me for the last month. … It's just great to be back."
Sidney Crosby, Danton Heinen and Malkin each had a goal and two assists for the Penguins (24-15-8), who are 3-0-2 in their past five. Casey DeSmith made 33 saves in place of Tristan Jarry, who was a late scratch with an upper-body injury.
"It was an entertaining game, that's for sure," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think the entertainment value was off the charts. From a coaching standpoint, we would like it to be a tighter game. I know we're capable of it."
The return of Letang was incredible. Storybook, even. The Penguins have been dealt a bad hand with injuries all year long and Letang, having gone through a stroke and then what his father went through, is the ultimate unfortunate. The Penguins are 5-5 on the money line in the last 10, so they've been on .500 hockey. If this is the springboard the Penguins need, then all is good. Just don't give up 7 goals a game.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday, January 24 in Denver, Colorado with a score of 3-2. The Washington Capitals currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division. Conor Sheary and Alex Ovechkin scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves for the Capitals.
"I thought the guys played hard," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "There were things on the goals that I wish we did better defensively. Mistakes, not from a lack of effort, just a little bit of the details. I thought our guys showed up and attacked from the get-go. And when you're attacking like that, sometimes you leave yourself a little bit vulnerable."
"I think it's definitely something we can build off," Sheary said. "In the beginning of the second, we didn't come out to play and let them score that goal. That kind of hurt us, but overall, I think 50-55 minutes of that game we like the way we play. We controlled play, got a lot of chances, goalie made big saves at the end, and just wasn't the result [we wanted]."
Ovechkin had three shots in 23:32 after missing one game with a lower-body injury.
"I'm not going to say I was 100 percent, but I was able to play," Ovechkin said. "I think if we're going to play like that we're going to win lots of games."
The Capitals have sort of fallen off in the last 10 games, going just 4-6 on the money line with the under going 5-4-1 in that time. You can't blame not having Ovechkin for one game when this is the result. Washington needs to find some consistency if we're going to take them seriously.
Prediction
Getting back home after a five-game road trip will surely help in that regard. And it's the Penguins, which is a perfect way to get back on the winning track. It all depends on how they respond at home. Capitals 3, Penguins 2
Betting trends
Penguins are 4-13 after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
Penguins are 2-7 after a game where nine or more total goals were scored this season.
Capitals are 16-11 off an under this season.
Capitals are 2-9 revenging a home loss this season.
Projected lines
Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Marcus Johansson -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Garnet Hathaway
Anthony Mantha -- Lars Eller -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev -- Martin Fehervary
Darcy Kuemper
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Marcus Johansson -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Garnet Hathaway
Anthony Mantha -- Lars Eller -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev -- Martin Fehervary
Darcy Kuemper
Penguins:
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn -- Teddy Blueger -- Jeff Carter
Drew O'Connor -- Ryan Poehling -- Danton Heinen
Kris Letang -- Brian Dumoulin
Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn -- Teddy Blueger -- Jeff Carter
Drew O'Connor -- Ryan Poehling -- Danton Heinen
Kris Letang -- Brian Dumoulin
Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
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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.
