Washington vs Pittsburgh: Another Crosby vs Ovechkin encounter will be extremely hard-fought

Washington will take on Pittsburgh at Capital One Arena. We’ll pick a few options to bet on at once.

Ahead of the season, Capitals fans, for all the importance and grandeur of Alexander Ovechkin’s mission in his pursuit of Gretzky, had concerns about whether the outcome would be sacrificed. So far, the fears are not justified. Peter Laviolette’s Capitals are very much on course for the championship and approach the game against Pittsburgh as the leader of the Capital One division and in 2nd place in the entire Eastern Conference.

Washington outplayed Anaheim 4-3 in a shootout in the previous game. Alexander Ovechkin had two assists. One of them was an assist to John Carlson, who tied the game 23 seconds before the final siren.

It seems like only yesterday the Penguins were trailing 0-6 in Ottawa midway through the third period, and Mike Sullivan’s team is already in the Eastern Conference playoff zone. For their game against Washington, the Penguins are in fourth place in the Capital One standings and seventh place in the entire East. Sidney Crosby’s return to the ice has positively affected the Pennsylvania team. Now the Pens await Evgeni Malkin, who is still recovering from a knee injury.

The match in Washington will be Pittsburgh’s fifth on foreign ice. The team visited Canada, where it lost to Calgary on a shootout and to Connor McDavid’s Edmonton, beat Vancouver 4-1 and then, back in the USA, handled the Kraken 6-1 in Seattle.

Pittsburgh cannot be underestimated. This is an experienced team that is still capable of producing serious results. The ease with which the Penguins returned to the playoff zone after Sidney Crosby returned to the ice is the clearest proof. It will be very difficult for Washington to beat Pence on home ice for the second time in a row. In any case, the Capitals’ 60 minutes of regular time might not be enough.

We predict that Pittsburgh will impose on the leader of the Metropolitan division the most serious resistance.

• X2 and Total Under 10.5 for 1.80;
• X in regulation time for 4.20;
• Correct score 4-4 for 13.00.