– Last Updated on November 21, 2022 5:04 pm
Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Penguins vs Capitals NHL Odds
Looking for Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Penguins taking on the Capitals on Wednesday January 11th at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(26-8-5) Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals (26-9-5)
Date: Wednesday January 11th
Time: 5:00 PM
Venue: Verizon Center in Washington, DC
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Capitals -120
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds:
NHL Betting Total: 5.5
Live NHL Odds
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For TodayClick here to view… NHL ATS Stats & Expert NHL Betting Insight!
The infamous Sid vs Ovy duel takes place once again, in what always makes for an exciting match up.
Both of their respective teams have performed well this season, with the Penguins sitting in 2nd in the Metro behind the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Capitals sit just back of the Pens in 3rd place in the division.
Each team enters with 57 points on the year and goal differentials of +30 and +31 respectively, with Washington having played one more game than Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby is doing his best Alexander Ovechkin impression, scoring 26 goals in 33 games played and currently on pace for nearly 60 on the season. He’s chipped in 18 assists to total 44, which is the team lead and sits him second in the NHL overall.
The Penguins sit 1st overall in goals per game, thanks in large part to the efforts by Sid the Kid, but it isn’t just a one man show.
Evgeni Malkin has notched 16 goals and sits just one point back of Crosby, at 43.
Not to be forgotten amongst the two superstars, is Phil Kessel, who has sniped 13 and 39 total points for a deadly trio that have provided the highest point total of any teams’ trio in the NHL.
[dfads params=’groups=234&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
The blueline certainly took a hit when Kris Letang went down to injury. Letang is the powerplay quarterback and led the Pens in defensive scoring with 22 points in 27 games at the time of injury.
Stepping in is Justin Schultz though, which now appears to be an astute off-season re-signing, as he now has registered 25 points in 39 games and has filled in admirably for Letang on the powerplay.
Matt Murray, the now incumbent starter, has performed admirably after supplanting Marc-Andre Fleury in last year’s Stanley Cup playoff run and into this year, when healthy.
Murray owns a 2.18 GAA and a .928 SV%, appearing to be the goalie the Pens will protect in the upcoming expansion draft.
Washington Capitals
Don’t write off Alex Ovechkin for another 50-goal season, which would be his fourth consecutive and seventh total should he reach the mark.
After a slow start to the season, Ovy now has 19 on the year and has certainly picked up his scoring pace at mid-season in years past after slow starts.
Nicklas Backstrom, the solid set-up man in the middle has now reached 500 career assists.
Backstrom has the most points of the 2006 draft class, with 676 total in 692 career games.
This is ahead of the next best from this class, Phil Kessel, who has registered 618 points but in almost 100 more games played than Backstrom.
The Caps have deep scoring, but need Evgeny Kuznetsov to step-up his pace this year. Kuznetsov led the Caps in points a season ago with 77, but has just 5 goals and 27 points in 40 games this season.
The back-end is solid amongst their three pairings, with the likes of John Carlson, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik and Dmitry Orlov and Karl Alzner as the core.
Carlson leads the blueliners with five goals and 22 points.
Check out the free sports picks from Cappers Picks experts today!
One of the Caps biggest stars is between the pipes, as Braden Holtby has developed into a top netminder in the league since being drafted by Washington in the 4th round in 2008.
Holtby owns a .931 SV% and a 1.90 GAA on the year with five shutouts, which is tied for the league lead.
NHL Betting Trends:
- The Penguins sit 1st overall in goals per game at 3.5
- Pittsburgh is 8-6-3 on the road
- Sidney Crosby has the best points per game rate at 1.33 this year
- Braden Holtby sits 3rd in GAA in the NHL at 1.90, and the Capitals as a whole are best in goals against at 2.0
- Washington is 15-5-1 at home
- Washington has a total goal differential of plus-31 on the year
Free Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals NHL Hockey Prediction:
This should be a dogfight, with neither Crosby or Ovechkin wanting to relinquish in the head-to-head battle that has been an on-going one since they entered the league in 2005.
Despite the excellent goaltenders in this game, I like the over based on how potent each of the two offenses are. Look for both of the offensive players to step up in this on-going Eastern Conference battle.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: Over 5.5
NHL Free Score Prediction: Pittsburgh-3 – Washington-4
If you’re looking for more NHL picks like this Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals matchup we’ll be providing 4* free NHL predictions on the blog during the entire 2017 NHL season, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free NHL Hockey picks!
CappersPicks.com has Stanley Cup odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NHL lines up for early games as well.