by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Jan 28, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Where to watch: ATTSN-PT, NBCSCA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Penguins -250, Sharks +210
FanDuel: Penguins -250, Sharks +210
BetMGM: Penguins -250, Sharks +210
Caesars: Penguins -250, Sharks +210
Season record
Sharks: 14-25-11
Penguins: 24-15-9
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!
Sharks - Penguins preview, prediction and analysis
The San Jose Sharks will be playing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, January 28 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Detroit Red Wings last Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with a score of 3-2 in overtime. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division as of January 26.
San Jose captain Logan Couture felt he should have done more while players were fighting for the puck in front of the net.
"I won the face-off toward the middle, and somehow Rasmussen ended up with a partial breakaway out of it," he said. "I think Reimer stopped three shots from him, and then I had a chance to clear it, but I put it right onto Copp's stick."
Erik Karlsson had two assists, and Reimer made 32 saves for the Sharks (14-25-10), who have lost eight of 10 (2-5-3) and were coming off a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
"I thought we were better tonight," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "It wasn't a great game, but it was solid. We had a lot more honesty, pace and compete in our game tonight."
Timo Meier tied the game 1-1 at 7:58 with a wraparound after Karlsson shot wide to the left, but Rasmussen put Detroit ahead 2-1 at 16:29 with a wrist shot under Reimer's right arm.
Couture tied it 2-2 with seven seconds left when he one-timed a rebound from a sharp angle and the puck went in off the skate of Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.
Nico Sturm had a chance to give the Sharks the lead late in the third period when he skated in alone on Husso, but the goalie kicked out his left pad at the right post to stop the backhand shot at 16:01.
The San Jose Sharks have won two of their last 10 games as of January 26.
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, January 26 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 3-2 in a shoot out. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 5th in the Metropolitan Division.
Danton Heinen and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins (24-15-9), who have points in six straight games (3-0-3). Casey DeSmith made 43 saves.
"Anytime you get a point, it's a good point," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was a hard-fought point, I'll tell you that."
DeSmith bounced back after allowing six goals in 39 shots in a 7-6 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
"I felt great tonight. I felt like myself," DeSmith said. "I felt like I played my game, which I was really happy about. That was kind of my focus going in: just trusting my game, going out and playing it and thankfully I was able to do that."
Heinen tied it 1-1 at 2:37 of the second period. After Drew O'Connor's shot on the rush hit the post and bounced off Kuemper, Heinen reached behind the goalie and poked the puck in.
Johansson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 5:17 of the third period when he received a drop pass from Backstrom and scored to the far side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Rust tied it 2-2 when he scored over Kuemper's left shoulder from the right circle on the rush at 12:52.
"We've done a pretty good job of just fighting and battling. It's a nightly thing," Penguins player Sidney Crosby said. "We've got to make sure that we're consistent, but we've been competing hard and finding ways and we've got to find another level here going into the stretch run."
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
One way to get back on track is to play a team that isn't good. Advantage Pittsburgh. Penguins 4, Sharks 1
The San Jose Sharks lost against the Detroit Red Wings last Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan with a score of 3-2 in overtime. The San Jose Sharks currently rank 7th in the Pacific Division as of January 26.
San Jose captain Logan Couture felt he should have done more while players were fighting for the puck in front of the net.
"I won the face-off toward the middle, and somehow Rasmussen ended up with a partial breakaway out of it," he said. "I think Reimer stopped three shots from him, and then I had a chance to clear it, but I put it right onto Copp's stick."
Erik Karlsson had two assists, and Reimer made 32 saves for the Sharks (14-25-10), who have lost eight of 10 (2-5-3) and were coming off a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
"I thought we were better tonight," San Jose coach David Quinn said. "It wasn't a great game, but it was solid. We had a lot more honesty, pace and compete in our game tonight."
Timo Meier tied the game 1-1 at 7:58 with a wraparound after Karlsson shot wide to the left, but Rasmussen put Detroit ahead 2-1 at 16:29 with a wrist shot under Reimer's right arm.
Couture tied it 2-2 with seven seconds left when he one-timed a rebound from a sharp angle and the puck went in off the skate of Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider.
Nico Sturm had a chance to give the Sharks the lead late in the third period when he skated in alone on Husso, but the goalie kicked out his left pad at the right post to stop the backhand shot at 16:01.
The San Jose Sharks have won two of their last 10 games as of January 26.
The Pittsburgh Penguins lost against the Washington Capitals on Thursday, January 26 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 3-2 in a shoot out. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 5th in the Metropolitan Division.
Danton Heinen and Bryan Rust scored for the Penguins (24-15-9), who have points in six straight games (3-0-3). Casey DeSmith made 43 saves.
"Anytime you get a point, it's a good point," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was a hard-fought point, I'll tell you that."
DeSmith bounced back after allowing six goals in 39 shots in a 7-6 overtime win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
"I felt great tonight. I felt like myself," DeSmith said. "I felt like I played my game, which I was really happy about. That was kind of my focus going in: just trusting my game, going out and playing it and thankfully I was able to do that."
Heinen tied it 1-1 at 2:37 of the second period. After Drew O'Connor's shot on the rush hit the post and bounced off Kuemper, Heinen reached behind the goalie and poked the puck in.
Johansson gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 5:17 of the third period when he received a drop pass from Backstrom and scored to the far side with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.
Rust tied it 2-2 when he scored over Kuemper's left shoulder from the right circle on the rush at 12:52.
"We've done a pretty good job of just fighting and battling. It's a nightly thing," Penguins player Sidney Crosby said. "We've got to make sure that we're consistent, but we've been competing hard and finding ways and we've got to find another level here going into the stretch run."
The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
One way to get back on track is to play a team that isn't good. Advantage Pittsburgh. Penguins 4, Sharks 1
Betting trends
Penguins are 10-2 in last 12 vs. Western Conference.
Under is 4-1 in last 5 Penguins games.
Sharks have lost last 5 against Metropolitan Division foes.
Projected lines
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
Casey DeSmith
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
Casey DeSmith
Sharks:
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Michael Eyssimont
Evgeny Svechnikov -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Noah Gregor
Oskar Lindblom -- Steven Lorentz -- Jonah Gadjovich
Jaycob Megna -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Mario Ferraro
Jacob MacDonald -- Scott Harrington
James Reimer
Timo Meier -- Tomas Hertl -- Michael Eyssimont
Evgeny Svechnikov -- Logan Couture -- Alexander Barabanov
Nick Bonino -- Nico Sturm -- Noah Gregor
Oskar Lindblom -- Steven Lorentz -- Jonah Gadjovich
Jaycob Megna -- Erik Karlsson
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Mario Ferraro
Jacob MacDonald -- Scott Harrington
James Reimer
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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.
