How about them Senators? Ottawa won a blowout Wednesday night, putting seven on the board against the struggling Columbus Blue Jackets. The Sens may be up for another big game on the road when they take on the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. The Pens are still winless through their first four games of the season, but it’s just a matter of time they broke out with their devastating playmakers.
The Ottawa Senators flexed their muscle a game after being held to one goal by the Montreal Canadiens. Bobby Ryan, Mika Zibanejad and Kyle Turris each had a goal and an assist, while Erick Karlsson had a career-high four assists. Marc Methot, Milan Michalek, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mike Hoffman also scored in Ottawa’s 7-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.
[sc:NHL240 ]The Sens improved to 3-0-0 on the road for the first time since the 2007-08 season. They have a chance to further extend their unbeaten road record in a visit to the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins. But Ottawa is just 1-4 in its last five trips to CONSOL Energy Center. Karlsson should be a big help Ottawa take a big win at Pittsburgh. He’s scored 18 points (three goals and 15 assists) in 18 career games against the Penguins.
Turris, who leads the team with four goals this season, should benefit greatly from Karlsson’s playmaking. He has scored 10 points (four goals and six assists) in 14 career games against the Penguins. Turris has a plus/minus of seven against Pittsburgh.
Craig Anderson (3-0, 2.59 GAA) has started between the pipes in all of Ottawa’s wins this season. He’s been steady against the Penguins with a .929 save percentage and 2.28 GAA in 14 career matchups. But he’s gone just 5-5-2 in those games.
The total has gone under in the last three matchups at Pittsburgh.
Betting on the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins remained winless for another night, dropping a 3-2 game at home against the Montreal Canadiens. Phil Kessel, picked up through a blockbuster trade with Toronto in the offseason, tallied an assist in his home debut as a Penguin.
Kessel is due for a big game against Ottawa; he’s scored 50 points split evenly between goals and assists as well as a plus/minus of 24 in 51 career gaints against the Sens. Kessel could further add to his lofty numbers against Ottawa skating beside solid playmakers in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby has 21 career assists in 29 games against Ottawa, while Malkin has been deadly with 30 points in 29 head-to-head matchups.
Marc-Andre Fleury (0-3, 2.73 GAA) has taken all of Pittsburgh’s losses. But he’s also shown some strong plays such as blanking the Canadiens on a 3-on-1 situation. If he’s to get his first win of the season against the Senators, then he’ll need plenty of help from his defensemen such as Kris Letang. Fleury has struggled against the Senators in his career, going 11-9-2 with a 3.26 GAA and .899 save percentage in 26 games.
The Penguins have struggled at home recently, going 2-8 in 10 games dating back to last season.
Writer’s Prediction
The Penguins finally record their first win of the season. Create a betting account now and get your daily fix of hockey action.
