John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, and the Washington Capitals are set to face off against Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in a Metro Division tilt. The action gets started at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 7, and it’ll be showcased live on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Washington is 40-27 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 41 of its contests have gone over the total, while 23 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2019-20 Capitals team is 22-12 SU on the road.
Washington has converted on 19.6 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. Additionally, its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 82.8 percent of its penalties..
With a .896 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Braden Holtby (25-21-5) has been the primary option in goal for Washington this year. If head coach Todd Reirden chooses to rest him, however, the team could go with Ilya Samsonov (16-10-2), who has a .913 save percentage and 2.55 goals against average this year.
Pittsburgh is 39-27 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.6 units for moneyline bettors this year. 33 of its contests have gone under the total, while 30 have gone over and just two have pushed. This year, the team is 23-10 SU as the home team.
The Penguins have converted on just 20.5 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked eighth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all opponent power plays.
Matt Murray (25.1 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Penguins. Murray has 20 wins, 16 losses, and five overtime losses to his name and has maintained a pedestrian 2.83 goals against average and a poor .900 save percentage this year.
Washington Capitals at Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
Over Washington’s last ten games, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
Power-play chances could have a critical role in this game. The Capitals are 12-10 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-14 when they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Penguins are 18-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 28-17 in games where their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Washington is 4-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 3-0 in shootouts.
Washington is ranked 22nd this season with 11.0 giveaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as it’s averaged 9.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 9.6 giveaways over its last five.
Pittsburgh has averaged 10.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.2 giveaways per game (ranked 11th in the league).
This game features a couple of the more aggressive teams in the league. Washington skaters have accounted for the league’s seventh-most hits per game (24.7) and the Penguins have tallied the fourth-most (27.6).