Who is favored in Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals?

Washington Capitals are favored on the moneyline.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals

·Wed Oct 7·7:30 PM ET·TNT·Washington, DC

By JR·2 min read

Penguins(2-0-0)

Capitals(1-1-0)

Wednesday 10/077:30 PM

TLDR: The Penguins have scored 13 goals in their first 2 games, and they've also blown a 4-goal lead at home. Before they get to Capital One Arena on Wednesday, October 7, they host Winnipeg, so this early look at a rivalry game is waiting on one more result.

WED OCT 7, 7:30 PM TNT

Penguins

(2-0-0)

Capitals

(1-1-0)

Pittsburgh arrives in Washington with a 2-0-0 start built on offense, including a 7-0 win in Philadelphia and a 6-5 overtime escape against Montreal after blowing a 4-goal lead. Before this game the Penguins host Winnipeg, while the 1-1-0 Capitals get 3 days off at home after a flat 3-1 loss in Tampa. Both blue lines are short, with Graves out for Pittsburgh and Sandin out and Roy day-to-day for Washington, so the game likely turns on which defense holds up.

Pittsburgh Penguins

13 goals through 2 games, including a 7-0 win
4-goal second period vs Montreal, 23-5 shot run
Novak and Malkin connected for the OT winner
Blew a 5-1 lead, allowed 4 straight goals
Graves on IR, blue line thinner
Hosts Winnipeg 2 days before, then travels

Washington Capitals

3 days off at home before puck drop
Handled Carolina 5-2 on the road
Outscored 2-0 in Tampa's first period
Sandin out, Roy day-to-day on defense
Only 1 goal against Tampa

Start with the schedule. The Penguins host the Winnipeg Jets on October 5, then travel to Washington for this one. The Capitals have nothing on their calendar between their loss in Tampa and puck drop at 7:30 PM ET. Washington gets a stretch of rest and practice time. Pittsburgh gets another game, a quick turnaround and a road trip. The Jets result will decide whether the Penguins arrive unbeaten, and it will also show whether the defensive leak from their last game has been fixed.

About that leak. Pittsburgh beat Montreal 6-5 in overtime after leading 5-1, thanks to a 4-goal second period and a 23-5 shot edge over a 25-minute stretch. Then Nick Suzuki scored late in the second, and Cole Caufield, Chris Kreider and Ivan Demidov sent it to overtime. Tommy Novak bailed them out with his second goal of the night 1:33 into OT, on a 2-on-1 feed from Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins are doing this with Ryan Graves on injured reserve, which shortens the blue line. Up front they're missing Bryan Rust and Justin Brazeau, both on IR. Losing 2 right wingers matters even for a team that's putting up 6 or 7 a night.

Washington's start is the opposite: tidy, then flat. They opened with a 5-2 win in Carolina, then lost 3-1 in Tampa, where the Lightning scored twice in the first period through Edouard D'Astous and Conor Geekie. Justin Sourdif got the only Capitals goal in the second, and Jake Guentzel closed it out with 2:05 left. Coming home after 2 road games to open the season gives the Caps a reset and a building that will be loud for the Penguins.

The Capitals have their own blue-line problem. Rasmus Sandin (knee) opens the season on the injured non-roster list, and Matt Roy went day-to-day after the Tampa game. If Roy can't play on Wednesday, Washington is 2 regular defensemen short against a Pittsburgh team that showed it can pile up goals in bunches. Center Patrick Thomas is also on IR. Those 3 days off are Washington's best chance to get Roy right.

The matchup is simple enough. Pittsburgh's forwards drive play and can bury a team in a single period, but they have given up 5 goals in about 25 minutes when the game opened up. Washington wants to keep it tight like it did in Raleigh, not sleepwalk through a first period the way it did in Tampa. If the Penguins carry the puck the way they did against Montreal, the Caps' patched-up defense has a long night ahead. If Washington gets its legs early, Pittsburgh's game against the Jets 2 nights before could show up in the third period.

No picks yet. The board opens once this is the next game on both schedules, and Pittsburgh has the Jets first. Check back after that one. By then we'll know more about Roy's status and how the Penguins' defense handled Winnipeg.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Washington Capitals

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