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Capitals are betting favorites vs. Penguins in marquee matchup

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In the first game of a Wednesday Night Hockey double header, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins travel to Washington to face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. Tune in to NBCSN on Wednesday at 7:30 PM ET.

Neither the Pittsburgh Penguins nor the Washington Capitals are looking like world-beaters, but that has served to keep the moneyline in a range where the Capitals usually make good on their betting value.

The Capitals, led by Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, are -125 betting favorites against the +105 underdog Pittsburgh Penguins on the NHL odds for Wednesday at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Capitals, according to the OddsShark NHL Database, are 8-2 in their last 10 regular-season home games as a moneyline favorite of -120 to -140, with the total going OVER in eight of those matchups. Washington is also 14-6 in its last 20 home games against the Metropolitan Division.

The Penguins are 6-4 in their last 10 regular-season road games as an underdog of +100 to +120 on the moneyline, with the total going OVER in seven of those matchups.

Led by centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Penguins are 6-4-3 this season, but have lost their last four games by an aggregate score of 18-6. While they are 5-5 in their last 10 visits to Washington’s Capital One Arena, it’s tough to back the Penguins on anything more than a hunch until they can demonstrate more consistency. Pittsburgh’s power play is also in a 2-for-19 slump that has prompted putting Crosby and Malkin on separate units.

Penguins goalie Matt Murray is 5-4 with a 3.93 goals-against average and .875 save percentage in his career against the Capitals.

The Capitals also have a 6-4-3 record and are looking to win consecutive games for the first time this season. The defending Stanley Cup champions are going into their second game since coach Todd Reirden re-jigged his forward lines. While it meant Dmitrij Jaskin is now the right wing on the Kuznetsov-Ovechkin line, it might give the Capitals, who are 15-5 in their last 20 November home games, some extra secondary scoring.

Washington’s most recent victory, a 4-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, was sparked by its fourth line, now bolstered by left wing Jakub Vrana. The Capitals’ power play is also the league’s best, converting at a 36.6 percent efficiency.

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby is 8-9-3 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .906 save percentage against the Penguins.

The total has gone OVER in three of the Penguins’ last five road games against the Capitals. The total has also gone OVER in 13 of the Capitals’ last 20 home games against Metropolitan Division teams. Wednesday’s total is set at 6.5 goals.

For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or Spotify or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.