{"id":462802,"date":"2025-02-22T08:43:58","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T13:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=462802"},"modified":"2025-02-22T08:43:58","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T13:43:58","slug":"nhl-predictions-penguins-vs-capitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/02\/22\/nhl-predictions-penguins-vs-capitals\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: February 22 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Washington Capitals"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> host the Washington Capitals<\/a> in a rivalry matchup. Welcome back to NHL Predictions<\/a> here on Last Word on Hockey!<\/p>\n

Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL\u2019s games. In tonight\u2019s matchup, the Penguins aim to build momentum post-Four Nations Face-Off \u00a0facing off against the second-best team in the NHL, the Washington Capitals.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head:<\/strong> Capitals 1-1 Penguins<\/h4>\n

Time:<\/strong>\u00a03:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> SportsNet Pittsburgh; ABC; ESPN+; SN 360<\/p>\n

We have a big-time rivalry matchup in this batch of NHL predictions. This game marks the third meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied at 1-1 so far. The Penguins won 4-2 on November 8. However, the Capitals have the last laugh with a 4-1 win on January 18.<\/p>\n

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

The Penguins are 23-25-9, sitting tied for second-last in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers. This season has confirmed the suspicions of many that Pittsburgh should begin moving towards a rebuild. Even with this fact, Sidney Crosby<\/a> continues to lead this team. Crosby had five points in four games while acting as captain for Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off.<\/p>\n

This season, Crosby has 58 points in 55 games to lead the team. Behind him is Rickard Rakell<\/a>, who played on the top line for Team Sweden in the tournament<\/a>. Rakell has 48 points in 56 games. Fellow Swedish star Erik Karlsson<\/a> leads the defence in points with 38 in 57 games.<\/p>\n

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

The Washington Capitals have had a far better season than what was expected of them. With a 36-11-8 record, Washington\u2019s 80 points places them second-best in the league, with just one point separating them and the Winnipeg Jets for first.<\/p>\n

The success of the Capitals has come as a result of scoring by committee. Dylan Strome<\/a> leads the way with 54 points in 55 games. In addition to Strome, the Capitals have five other forwards with more than 40 points through 55 games. Of these players, Alex Ovechkin has 43 points in just 39 games played with 26 goals. The Russian superstar is looking to surpass Wayne Gretzky<\/a>\u2019s scoring record later this season and will be searching for opportunities to score in this game.<\/p>\n

Prediction<\/strong><\/h3>\n

With two weeks off, expect both teams to come out sluggish. While Pittsburgh will be looking to start their post-break season off with a win, the Capitals have far too much depth for the Penguins to contend with.<\/p>\n

Prediction:\u00a0Capitals win 5-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bet for the Night<\/strong><\/h3>\n

We close out this set of NHL predictions with some preferred prop bets of the day. Keep mind this game has a 3 p.m. Eastern time start. Make sure you get any wagers in and set fantasy hockey lineups as early as possible.<\/p>\n

FanDuel’s Over 6 Goals (+104)<\/strong> \u2013 The Capitals and Alex Ovechkin<\/a> seem to be scoring at will. Expect a rainfall of goals against one of the worst defensive teams in the league.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

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

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Washington Capitals in a rivalry matchup. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here on Last Word on Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL\u2019s games. In tonight\u2019s matchup, the Penguins aim to build momentum post-Four Nations Face-Off \u00a0facing off against the second-best team in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":455595,"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":[4547,4548,12,4524,15],"tags":[2568,6123,724,140,6239],"class_list":["post-462802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-penguins","category-nhl-predictions","category-capitals","tag-alex-ovechkin","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-predictions","tag-rickard-rakell","tag-sidney-crosby","tag-washington-capitals-predictions"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462802","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=462802"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462812,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462802\/revisions\/462812"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}