Pittsburgh Penguins vs Columbus Blue Jackets 12/6/22 NHL Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet in NHL action from PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to rebound from a 4-2 loss to the Detroit Red Wings last time out. Johnny Gaudreau has a team-high 26 points with 8 goals and 18 assists while Boone Jenner has 18 points with a team-high 9 goals. Elvis Merzlikins has gone 2-5 with a 4.74 GAA and an .864 save percentage while Joonas Korpisalo is 4-5-1 with a 3.51 GAA and a .905 save percentage and Daniil Tarasov has gone 2-3-1 with a 3.17 GAA and an .912 save percentage in goal for Columbus this year.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to build on back-to-back wins after a 6-2 win over St. Louis last time out. Sidney Crosby has a team-high 33 points with 32 goals and 20 assists while Evgeni Malkin has 24 points split between 8 goals and 16 assists. Jake Guentzel has also chipped in 24 points with 12 goals and 12 assists this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 10-3-3 with a 2.86 GAA and a .915 save percentage while Casey DeSmith is 3-5-1 with a 3.00 GAA and a .908 save percentage in goal for Pittsburgh this season.

Columbus is 1-4 in their last 5 games overall and 1-7 in their last 8 games played on 1 days rest while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 division games. Pittsburgh is 5-1 in their last 6 games following a win and 0-4 in their last 4 Tuesday games while the over is 4-1 in their last 5 games when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in the previous game.

I get the case to be made for either side here, but I’m looking at the Penguins on the puck line. Pittsburgh’s owned this matchup going back to last year and the Blue Jackets have struggled in Pittsburgh, losing 23 of the last 27 meetings in Pittsburgh. I think this one’s all Pittsburgh, so give me the Penguins -1.5.