The Pittsburgh Penguins (1-2-0) and Washington Capitals (2-0-1) play for the second time in three days at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday. The puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Capitals-Penguins NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Penguins snuck out a 4-3 shootout win Sunday. Penguins LW Jake Guentzel scored the shootout winner after the Pens came back from a 2-1 deficit after 40 minutes.
Capitals at Penguins: Betting odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:31 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Capitals +115 (bet $100 to win $115) | Penguins -135 (bet $135 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Capitals +1.5 (-250) | Penguins -1.5 (+190)
- Over/Under: 6.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Capitals at Penguins: Projected starting goalies
Ilya Samsonov (1-0-1, .868 SV%, 3.36 GAA) vs. Casey DeSmith (1-0-0, .889 SV%, 2.13 GAA)
Samsonov hasn’t looked sharp to begin the season after posting a .913 save percentage and 2.55 goals against average in his 26-game 2019-20 rookie season. One of his 3 regulation goals allowed Sunday came on a poor puck-handling miscue.
DeSmith is projected to start again after being in net for the shootout win over the Caps Sunday. He stopped 20 of 23 shots in regulation and overtime, and he has looked sharper than Tristan Jarry in the early going.
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Capitals at Penguins: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Capitals 4, Penguins 2
Money line (ML)
Both teams registered 32 total shot attempts, including blocked and missed shots at full strength Sunday, but the Penguins had 20 scoring chances at 5-on-5 to 15 for the Capitals. Washington went 1-for-4 on the power play and Pittsburgh was 0-for-5 Sunday to drop to 2-for-13 on the season.
Samsonov should provide the Capitals with a significant edge in the goaltending battle. He was 10-2-1 on the road last season with a .911 SV% and 2.55 GAA. Take the value with the underdog CAPITALS (+115) while counting on their goalie to clean up some early-season mistakes.
Against the spread (ATS)
Take a chance on the alternate line of CAPITALS -1.5 (+280). The Penguins lost their first two games of the season against the rival Philadelphia Flyers by scores of 6-3 and 5-2. Goaltending, and defense have been glaring trouble areas thus far.
Washington has scored 9 goals through three games and will finish its early-season road trip on a high note before returning home for six straight games.
Over/Under (O/U)
Lean to the UNDER 6.5 (-105). These teams are familiar with one another and needed a shootout to top this projection Sunday. Defensive play should be starting to round into form three games into the season.
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