Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals Game Preview and Prediction 01/26/2023

Arguably the best rivalry in the NHL is renewed as the Penguins travel to Washington to take on the Capitals. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08 p.m. EST.

Pittsburgh continues to deal with goaltending and injury issues and carry a 24-15-8 record (56 points) into tonight which sits the side in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. Sidney Crosby continues to lead his team in nearly every offensive category this season. The captain leads Pittsburgh with 23 goals, 34 assists and 57 points. Jake Guentzel sits second on the team in goals with 20 and third in points with 44. Rickard Rakell rounds out the Pittsburgh top three in goals with 18 while Evgeni Malkin is second on the team in points with 47. With Tristan Jarry dealing with another injury, Casey DeSmith will continue to start. DeSmith is 7-9-3 with a 3.34 goals against average and a .900 save percentage in 20 games. Josh Archibald (lower body) will not play tonight and Jarry (upper body) is out through the All-Star break.

Washington enters tonight with a January record of 4-6-1 record which lowers its overall record to 25-19-6 record (56 points) and puts the side fifth in the Metro. The Capitals are led by its captain Alex Ovechkin. The Russian has potted 31 goals thus far and sits 19 ahead of both Connor Sheary and Marcus Johansson who are tied for second on the team. Ovechkin also leads the team in points with 53 as Evgeny Kuznetsov (40) and Dylan Strome (36) round out the top three. Darcy Kuemper has been Washington’s number one goaltender this season. In 32 games, Kuemper is 14-13-4 with a 2.57 GAA and a .916 SV%. Nicklas Backstrom skated this morning after missing last game with an illness while T.J. Oshie returned to the team follow the birth of his fourth child. Tom Wilson is also listed as a game-time decision with a lower-body injury.

Pittsburgh took the first game of this season’s series after Washington took three of four games last season. Tonight’s projected starting goaltenders are DeSmith for the Penguins and Kuemper for the Capitals. 

Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Washington Capitals 3

I’m going to ride with the Penguins tonight on the road. This once again has game of the day potential with both teams at 56 points. Pittsburgh’s top six will be too much for Washington tonight and will do most of, if not all the damage tonight. I could see this one going either way, but I will side against the ice-cold Capitals.

Odds Presented By Betfred Sportsbook 

Spread- Pittsburgh Penguins +1.5 (-245) / Washington Capitals -1.5 (+195)

Moneyline- Pittsburgh Penguins +105 / Washington Capitals -125

Total- 6.5 – Over (-105) / Under (-115)

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