{"id":459729,"date":"2024-12-31T09:07:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-31T14:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=459729"},"modified":"2024-12-31T06:48:42","modified_gmt":"2024-12-31T11:48:42","slug":"nhl-predictions-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/31\/nhl-predictions-6\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec. 31 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Detroit Red Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a New Year\u2019s Eve showdown between the Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> and Detroit Red Wings<\/a>. Welcome back to NHL Predictions<\/a> here at Last Word on Hockey<\/em>! Each day we take a look at the NHL\u2019s upcoming games, making predictions and providing in-depth analysis. Be sure to follow us for all of the games in 2025!<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Detroit Red Wings<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Head-to-Head:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguins 1-1 Red Wings<\/p>\n

Time:<\/strong>\u00a07:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
\nTV:<\/strong>\u00a0ESPN+, Sportsnet+,<\/p>\n

In their third showdown this season, the Penguins and Red Wings are looking to gain some valuable points in the playoffs race. Pittsburgh took the first game in this season series on October 10th<\/sup> with a 6-3 win. Detroit took game two on November 24th<\/sup>, winning 3-2. Interestingly, the team playing away has won in both of the first two matchups. The Penguins will be hoping to keep this trend going.<\/p>\n

The Penguins\u2019 Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Pittsburgh Penguins are 17-16-5 to start the season. While at one point ranked in the bottom five in the league, Pittsburgh has made significant improvements in the standings. Captain Sidney Crosby<\/a> leads the team with 40 points in 38 games this season. Notably, he\u2019s had two four-point games in his last five. Behind him, Rickard Rakell<\/a> and Michael Bunting are on fire for Pittsburgh. Rakell has 17 goals and 31 points on the season. Bunting has 21 points in 37 games, although he\u2019s been on a hot streak over the last 10 or so games.<\/p>\n

In net, Tristan Jarry<\/a> is likely to get the start. He\u2019s coming off a loss against the New York Islanders on December 28th<\/sup> as part of a back-to-back. As such, Jarry will be looking to bounce back in this contest. Following a losing streak to begin the season, he\u2019s worked himself back to an 8-6-2 record. His .885 save percentage is far below his career average, and regressing to the mean may be key for Jarry and his performance.<\/p>\n

The Red Wings\u2019 Story<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Detroit Red Wings have had an incredibly disappointing season, to say the least. With a 14-18-4 record, the Red Wings will be sporting a new coach in Todd McLellan<\/a> following the firing of Derek Lalonde<\/a>. Even with this coaching change, there are arguably many roster issues that need fixing. Star forward Lucas Raymond<\/a> is the leader in points with 36 in 36 games. Behind him, Alex DeBrincat<\/a> has been disappointing with his 15 goals and 27 points. On defence, star Moritz Seider<\/a> has had a solid season, scoring 20 points in 36 games while providing crucial defensive minutes.<\/p>\n

Goaltending has been a contentious position for the Red Wings. Cam Talbot<\/a>, Alex Lyon<\/a>, Ville Husso,<\/a> and even Sebastian Cossa<\/a> have gotten starts this season. Talbot leads the pack with a 6-9-2 record along with a .906 save percentage. He\u2019s likely to get the start for Detroit against a soaring Penguins team.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions Wings and Pens<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Pittsburgh is playing hard for their chance to make the NHL playoffs. Meanwhile, Detroit is far too flawed for sustained success.<\/p>\n

NHL Prediction:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguins win 5-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bet for the Night<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As the Penguins continue to play high-scoring hockey, some betting sites have the over 7 at +180 rating, which we think is a fair bet.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a New Year\u2019s Eve showdown between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey! Each day we take a look at the NHL\u2019s upcoming games, making predictions and providing in-depth analysis. Be sure to follow us for all of the games in 2025! NHL […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":459756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4,4547,4548,4524],"tags":[1046,1119,6201,4224,5107,3916,6123,724,140,477],"class_list":["post-459729","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-penguins","category-redwings","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-alex-debrincat","tag-cam-talbot","tag-detroit-red-wings-predictions","tag-lucas-raymond","tag-michael-bunting","tag-moritz-seider","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-predictions","tag-rickard-rakell","tag-sidney-crosby","tag-tristan-jarry"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459729"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459757,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459729\/revisions\/459757"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/459756"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}