by Chuck Sommers
Wednesday, Nov 09, 2022
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Where to watch: TNT
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Penguins -135, Capitals +115
FanDuel: Penguins -130, Capitals +108
BetMGM: Penguins -125, Capitals +105
Caesars: Penguins -130, Capitals +110
Season record
Penguins: 4-6-2 (10 points)
Capitals: 6-6-2 (14 points)
What an electric start to the NHL season. So much parity, so many good teams through the first 10-plus games, you have every right to be excited! Of course the Vegas Golden Knights and Boston Bruins are heading the fun charge here as the top two teams in the league, because of course they are. But never count out the Avalanche, you know they're always going to be hanging around and will be eating worlds once they get everyone healthy. But this is a good time to be playing these hockey games, as well. Look no further than our own Vegas Writer off to a 14-11-0 start over the first 30 days of the NHL season. There's also ASA, Inc. posting a 10-5-1 mark through the first month. You know you can trust our champion handicappers to get you across the finish line with your NHL bets. Check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to see what we're throwing down!
Penguins - Capitals preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Penguins: lost 3-2 vs. Kraken; lost seven straight
Capitals: won 5-4 vs. Oilers
Nothing like a good old Crosby-Ovechkin matchup on national television to get everyone's minds off of whatever's bothering them. Unfortunately for fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, we'll likely to wait a little bit because the Penguins have lost seven in a row and the Caps are not at full strength.
Alas, someone's got to win in this one and I have no idea how to quantify it. The Penguins are looking like one of the worst teams in the league, losers of seven straight, while the Caps have needed to overcome some serious injury issues to get to where they are.
The Penguins lost 3-2 over the weekend to the Seattle Kraken for that seventh straight lost. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, but you can't expect to challenge for something like this is.
"At the end of the day, you lose and that stings because these guys are competitive guys," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "They care. When we don't live up to the expectations that we have for each other and we don't get the results more consistently than we have as of late, these guys take it to heart. We all do.
The Capitals are coming off a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers that ended a four-game losing streak. Alex Ovechkin is also creeping toward 800 goals and we will continue to watch.
"We hadn't had a lot of practice time over the last 10 days, and so we're putting it together through video and through meetings and stuff like that, but they were really good tonight," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said.
Prediction
You can never go wrong with this matchup. That being said, it would be so easy to take the Capitals since they're playing better, but I'm not doing that. I'm taking the team that needs a win in the worst possible way but they do after losing seven in a row. Give me Pittsburgh. Penguins win 3-2
Nothing like a good old Crosby-Ovechkin matchup on national television to get everyone's minds off of whatever's bothering them. Unfortunately for fans of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals, we'll likely to wait a little bit because the Penguins have lost seven in a row and the Caps are not at full strength.
Alas, someone's got to win in this one and I have no idea how to quantify it. The Penguins are looking like one of the worst teams in the league, losers of seven straight, while the Caps have needed to overcome some serious injury issues to get to where they are.
The Penguins lost 3-2 over the weekend to the Seattle Kraken for that seventh straight lost. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist, but you can't expect to challenge for something like this is.
"At the end of the day, you lose and that stings because these guys are competitive guys," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "They care. When we don't live up to the expectations that we have for each other and we don't get the results more consistently than we have as of late, these guys take it to heart. We all do.
The Capitals are coming off a 5-4 win over the Edmonton Oilers that ended a four-game losing streak. Alex Ovechkin is also creeping toward 800 goals and we will continue to watch.
"We hadn't had a lot of practice time over the last 10 days, and so we're putting it together through video and through meetings and stuff like that, but they were really good tonight," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said.
Prediction
You can never go wrong with this matchup. That being said, it would be so easy to take the Capitals since they're playing better, but I'm not doing that. I'm taking the team that needs a win in the worst possible way but they do after losing seven in a row. Give me Pittsburgh. Penguins win 3-2
Betting trends
Penguins are 57-39 against division opponents the last three years.
Penguins are 47-32 after playing a home game the last three years.
Capitals are 54-35 against division opponents the last three years.
Capitals are 33-25 after allowing three goals or more the last three years.
Projected lines
Penguins:
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen -- Drew O'Connor -- Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn -- Ryan Poehling -- Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Jan Rutta
Tristan Jarry
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen -- Drew O'Connor -- Kasperi Kapanen
Brock McGinn -- Ryan Poehling -- Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry
Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Jan Rutta
Tristan Jarry
Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- Marcus Johansson
Aliaksei Protas -- Lars Eller -- Anthony Mantha
Nicolas Aube-Kubel -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Lucas Johansen -- Matt Irwin
Darcy Kuemper
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- Marcus Johansson
Aliaksei Protas -- Lars Eller -- Anthony Mantha
Nicolas Aube-Kubel -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Lucas Johansen -- Matt Irwin
Darcy Kuemper
Statistical leaders
Penguins:
Points: Sidney Crosby -- 14
Goals: Sidney Crosby -- 6
Assists: Sidney Crosby -- 8
Goalie: Tristan Jarry -- 4-3-1, 3.38 GAA, .903 SV%
Capitals:
Points: Alex Ovechkin -- 13
Goals: Alex Ovechkin -- 8
Assists: Evgeny Kuznetsov -- 9
Goalie: Darcy Kuemper -- 4-5-1, 2.42 GAA, .919 SV%
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this Pittsburgh Penguins - Washington Capitals 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.
