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
