Welcome to another edition of NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey! Each day, we examine upcoming games, providing predictions, and analyzing head-to-head matchups. Here, we look at some Wednesday night hockey in the NHL. In today’s predictions article features, Sidney Crosby and his floundering Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the inexperienced Detroit Red Wings. Be sure to check out all of our NHL Predictions in November and all season long.
NHL Predictions
Detroit Red Wings vs. Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Red Wings 0-1 Penguins
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: TNT, Sportsnet+
Nearing the quarter mark of the NHL season, both teams in this matchup desperately need to begin building up momentum. The Penguins are coming off a 7-1 thrashing to the Dallas Stars. They are 6-9-2 on the season, sitting 25th in the league. Meanwhile, Detroit themselves are coming off an embarrassing 4-0 shutout loss to the New York Rangers. Their paltry 6-7-1 record places them just below the Penguins, 26th in the league. With the playoffs in both teams’ sights, this matchup is a great opportunity for either team to get their game going.
The Penguins’ Story
Pittsburgh’s 7-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on November 11th was a sobering loss. The team allowed six goals in the first period with both Joel Blomqvist and Alex Nedeljkovic having multiple goals scored on them. A lack of defence has been Pittsburgh’s most pressing issue. With defensive questions marks in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang, along with overall question marks in players like Ryan Graves and Jack St. Ivany, the concerns against this defensive group has been proven right. The team allows far too many odd-man rushes, without the talent in net to mitigate the consequences of this play.
Offensively, Evgeni Malkin and Crosby lead the charge with 18 and 16 points in 17 games, respectively. They, alongside Rickard Rakell, have been good weapons for the Penguins. With the lacklustre goaltending, it is likely Tristan Jarry makes his return against the Red Wings. However, with the offensive firepower Pittsburgh possesses, pushing the Red Wings’ own questionable defensive group will be the key to success. As a note, as always please check for the latest lineup news before locking in your fantasy starters.
The Red Wings’ Story
Detroit has had a disappointing start to the season. Similarly to Pittsburgh, they missed the playoffs by just a few points in the 2023-24 season. Hoping to build on their late momentum, the start of this season was crucial for the Wings. Unfortunately, their defensive group and lack of offensive firepower has let them down early. The New York Rangers were able to expose both the lack of offensive depth and weak defence Detroit possesses with a 4-0 win. Lucas Raymond leads the way, with 13 points in 14 games. Dynamic scorers like Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane have been slow to start, and need to produce more to support Raymond and captain Dylan Larkin. Although there is a youth movement in Detroit, the team also ices too many bottom pairing level defencemen in important situations. Players like Erik Gustafsson, Ben Chiarot, Justin Holl and Jeff Petry are in roles that don’t match their playstyle. Mitigating the loss in quality of play from this will be key to ensuring Cam Talbot’s continued success to start the season. With a .926 save percentage, Talbot’s goaltending will be crucial against Pittsburgh.
Prediction
Both teams will start the game angry. However, being on home ice following an embarrassing loss, expect the veteran Pittsburgh Penguins to come out firing. This along with the Red Wings’ disastrous defensive set-up should allow the Pittsburgh Penguins to exploit their opponents’ mistakes and come away with a victory.
Prediction: Penguins win 5-2.
Prop Bets of the Night
With the state of the defence on both the Penguins and Wings’ rosters, I expect a high-scoring affair. Fanduel offers an over-7 of +136 that I would recommend.
Main Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire – USA TODAY Sports
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