The Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet in NHL action from the PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night. We have a classic Metro division rivalry on our hands, who comes out on top? Let’s find out with our Capitals vs. Penguins Prediction.
Washington Capitals Team Preview
The Washington Capitals come into this one looking to snap a four-game losing streak after a 3-2 shootout loss to Nashville last time out. Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals in scoring with 21 points including 7 goals and 14 assists while Tom Wilson has 18 points with 10 goals and 8 assists. John Carlson has 19 points with a team-high 18 assists and Dylan Strome has 21 points with a team-high 13 goals for the Capitals. Aliaksei Protas also has 18 points with 15 assists for the Capitals this season. In goal for Washington, Darcy Kuemper has gone 8-8-2 with a 3.16 GAA and a .892 save percentage while Charlie Lindgren is 7-3-3 with a 2.27 GAA and a .928 save percentage and Hunter Shepard is 2-0-1 with a 2.27 GAA and a .926 save percentage this season.
Washington Capitals Team Facts
- The underdogs have won three of the Capitals’ last four games at PPG Paints Arena.
- The Capitals have covered the puck line in seven of their last eight games against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
- The home team has won the second period in each of the Capitals’ last four games.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Capitals’ last nine night games at PPG Paints Arena.
Pittsburgh Penguins Team Preview
The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game looking to build on their current three-game win streak after a 3-1 win over the Islanders last time out. Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins in scoring with 40 points including 16 goals and a team-high 24 assists while Sidney Crosby has 36 points with a team-high 20 goals. Evgeni Malkin has 31 points with 14 goals and 17 assists while Erik Karlsson’s added 23 points with 17 assists and Kris Letang has 23 points of his own with 20 assists this season. Tristan Jarry has gone 11-11-2 with a 2.47 GAA and a .916 save percentage while Alex Nedeljkovic has a 6-2-2 record with a 2.49 GAA and a .924 save percentage this season.
Pittsburgh Penguins Team Facts
- The Penguins have lost each of their last four games as favorites against Metropolitan Division opponents.
- The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last eight games as home favorites following a home win.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Penguins’ last 13 home games against opponents on a losing streak.
- The home team has won the first period in seven of the Penguins’ last eight games.
Matchup/League Facts
- The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 6th in the league for goals against per game this season (2.63).
- The Pittsburgh Penguins rank T26th in the league in power play percentage this season (13.39%).
- The Washington Capitals rank 31st in the league for goals per game this season (2.29).
- The Washington Capitals rank 30th in the league in power play percentage this season (11.46%).
Capitals vs. Penguins Prediction
I get the reasoning for looking at the dog in a rivalry matchup like this, but these are two teams headed in completely different directions right now. The Capitals can’t find the back of the net and the Penguins are firing on all cylinders right now. Give me the Penguins until the Capitals show me some signs of life.
