NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals

Overview

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in Washington tonight where they take on division rivals the Washington Capitals. The Penguins have played the Capitals well over the past few seasons winning 8 of the last 11 meetings overall although they have lost the last 3 straight. The under is also something to consider in this game as 7 of the last 8 meetings have all gone under the number.

Head to Head Trends

Penguins are 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.
Under is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.

Washington Capitals (-130)

The Washington Capitals are 4th in the Metropolitan Division with 76 points 6 points behind the 1st place New York Islanders. The Capitals have been playing some solid over the past couple weeks winning 8 of their last 11 games although 3 of those wins did come in overtime so they might be due to lose a couple of their next OT games. The Capitals have a pretty good offense averaging 3.0 goals per game but I think this team is even stronger on defense allowing just 2.5 goals per game.

Washington Capitals Trends

Capitals are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. a team with a winning record.
Capitals are 4-1 in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.

Pittsburgh Penguins (+110)

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 3rd in the Metropolitan Division with 77 points just 5 points out of 1st place. The Penguins went through a little rough patch last week losing 3 straight games while scoring just 3 goals total but they have won their last 2 games since and scored 9 goals so looks like that mini scoring slump is over. The Penguins have a better then average offense scoring 2.9 goals per game but like the Capitals I think they are also stronger on defense allowing just 2.5 goals per game.

Pittsburgh Penguins Trends

Penguins are 2-5 in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
Penguins are 45-19 in their last 64 games playing on 2 days rest.

Conclusion

This is a tough pick as both teams are fairly evenly matched with maybe a slight edge going to the Penguins. I’m going to go with the Penguins as an underdog which is always good but I also like the revenge factor here as the Capitals have won all 3 meetings so far this season including a game last week so I think the Penguins will probably be extra motivated to beat the Cap’s in this final meeting of the season.

Free Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins +110

 

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