Capitals vs. Penguins Prediction
The over has been a great play when the Capitals and Penguins meet, but will the two teams combine for enough goals on Sunday afternoon to push the score over the 6.5-goal total? The Puck drops at 3:00 p.m. ET in Pittsburgh.
Game Snapshot
001 Washington Capitals (+105) at 002 Pittsburgh Penguins (-125); o/u 6.5
3:00 p.m. ET, Sunday, February 14, 2021
Venue: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Washington Capitals DFS Spin
Vitek Vanecek had a tough time early in his career with the move from the Czech Republic to North America. The Capitals goaltender was drafted in the second round in 2014 and played in the ECHL in 2015-16 with the South Carolina Stingrays. “[Charleston] South Carolina is really nice, a nice city, but when I got there first time I came to the apartment and two guys already were there, so it was really hard to talk to them because I didn’t speak English,” Vanecek told NBC Sports Washington. “So they gave me one guy in South Carolina, he was from Czech, so he came with me my first day in South Carolina. So he talked to them and translated to me and everything, so that was my first day. It wasn’t easy, like if I needed laundry or something it was hard for me to tell them, and I didn’t have a car so they had to drive me every day to practice. So they’re telling me times, you know, everything was so hard for me…because of the language.” That’s a tough start. Vanecek is 5-2-2 with a 3.18 GAA and a .903 save percentage and will now share the net at best with Ilya Samsonov.
Pittsburgh Penguins DFS Spin
The Pittsburgh Penguins will have Evgeni Malkin in their lineup on Thursday night against the New York Islanders. Malkin was labeleld a game-time decision after leaving Wednesday’s practice due to some irritation in his eye. All appears to be well and Malkin will continue to look to turn his season. He has a point in three straight and six points in 11 games so far this season. Malkin will skate between Jason Zucker and Kasperi Kapanen on Pittsburgh’s second line.
Capitals vs. Penguins Prediction
The over is a perfect 6-0 in the last six meetings between these two teams and is 5-0 in the past five meetings in Pittsburgh. The over is also 8-2 in the Capitals’ last 10 games overall and 8-2 in their last 10 games as an underdog. On the other side, the over is 7-1 in the Penguins’ last eight games as a favorite and is 8-3-1 in their last 12 games as a home favorite.
NHL BETTING PREDICTION: CAPITALS/PENGUINS OVER 6.5