The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 26, and it can be watched live on NBC Sports Network.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals Odds
Washington comes into the game as the favorite with a -125 moneyline. The line for Pittsburgh sits at +105 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Washington is 53-35 straight up (SU) and earned moneyline bettors 11.8 units this year. Of the team’s 88 games this season, 50 went over the total, while 36 went under and just two pushed. The team is 29-15 SU at home this season.
The Capitals’ offensive skaters attempted 29.6 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.2 goals per contest. In the postseason, the club averages 37.2 shots on goal and 4 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they converted 23.6 percent of all power-play chances, the Capitals scored on 33.3 percent of their extra-man advantages in the postseason.
Averaging 27.7 saves per game with a .909 save percentage, Braden Holtby (38-21-5) is the primary goalkeeper for the Caps.
Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov spearhead the attack for the Capitals. Ovechkin scored 54 goals and 41 assists.
Pittsburgh is 51-37 straight up and earned -3 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 49 games went over the total, while 34 went under and five pushed. As an away team, the Penguins are 20-24 SU.
The Penguins have the first-strongest power-play unit, as they’ve converted on 25.6 percent of their chances. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 17th.
Pittsburgh’s players averaged 4.0 penalties per game, and 5.0 per game over their last five games. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays 10.2 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Matt Murray (25.9 saves per game) is the primary option in the net for Pittsburgh. Murray owns a 33-22-3 record, and registered a .907 save percentage and 2.84 goals against average.
Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
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Free Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
Over Washington’s last ten outings, five of them were decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-0 in those games).
Power plays and penalty kills will be extremely important in the outcome of this one. The Penguins are 23-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-22 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total. The Capitals are 16-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 30-18 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Pittsburgh is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
The total went over in three of Washington’s last five outings.
Washington skaters have averaged 12.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 10.7 giveaways per game (ranked 25th overall).
Pittsburgh averaged 6.6 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 8.9 giveaways per game (ranked 12th in the league).
Pittsburgh skaters have accounted for the sixth-most hits in the league (24.1 per game).
