Face-off: 1300 ET, 23/01/2022
Venue: PPG Paints Arena
Winnipeg finish off a tough four-match road trip with probably their most daunting task yet and hosts Pittsburgh are hard to oppose at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins are 8-2-0 since the turn of the year and have won 15 of their last 17 games overall, making them the NHL’s form team at present.
We’re happy to take 1.83 for a home victory in regular time to kick off our Pittsburgh Penguins vs Winnipeg Jets predictions.
Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh continued their hot streak when prevailing 5-2 at Columbus on Friday, where the resurgent Sidney Crosby hit a hat-trick.
The 34-year-old skipper struggled to find the net for long periods of a stop-start season but now has five in three outings.
“I feel good,” Crosby said. “With the more games we’ve played recently, I think it’s been good just to get rhythm and timing.”
Second-string goaltender Casey DeSmith only lasted one period against the Blue Jackets, conceding twice from 12 shots.
However, normal service was resumed once Tristan Jarry got between the posts and he should start today.
Pittsburgh prevailed 3-1 when these teams met in Canada earlier this term and 3.5 for the Penguins to win and let in under two goals again appeals to us from the NHL odds.
Winnipeg Jets Odds
Winnipeg welcomed back Blake Wheeler for yesterday’s 3-2 loss at Boston but still have some key players missing.
Nikolaj Ehlers, Evgeny Svechnikov and Logan Stanley are among the absentees from a squad not blessed with great strength in depth.
Having previously gone down 4-3 in overtime at Washington and 5-2 at Nashville, we know the Jets will be game, but possibly also outgunned against another powerful opponent.
Talking after the Bruins game, Wheeler said: “We don’t have a chance to sit back and sulk about it. We get to turn the page right away.
“Sometimes, if you end the road trip with a big win, you forget about what happened before.”
Nobody can doubt the spirit in this Winnipeg outfit, but there was just a hint of fatigue in the final period versus Boston after going behind for the first time.
Let’s finish off our NHL predictions at PPG Paints Arena by taking 6.5 for the Penguins to win by exactly two goals.
Additional stats
Last result:
Columbus 2-5 PITTSBURGH
Boston 3-2 WINNIPEG
Head-to-head: Winnipeg 1-3 Pittsburgh
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