Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction 4/17/25 NHL Picks

The Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins meet Thursday in NHL action from the PPG Paints Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins prediction.

Matchup History

The Washington Capitals lead the season series between these two teams 2-1 this year. Pittsburgh secured a 4-2 win in Washington on November 8th, 2024, before the Capitals got revenge at home, 4-1 on January 18th, 2025 and then added an 8-3 rout in Pittsburgh on February 22nd, 2025.

Washington Capitals Recap

The Washington Capitals come into this game looking to enter the postseason with some momentum after picking up a 3-1 win over the Islanders last time out to improve to 51-21-9 on the year.

Capitals Looking To Build Steam Going Into Playoffs

Dylan Strome leads the Capitals with 81 points including 29 goals and a team-high 52 assists while Alex Ovechkin has 72 points with 43 goals and 29 assists and Connor McMichael’s added 56 points with 25 goals and 31 assists. Aliaksei Protas has 66 points with 30 goals and 36 assists while Tom Wilson has 64 points and John Carlson has 51 points with Wilson logging 33 goals and 31 assists and Carlson adding 46 assists. Pierre-Luc Dubois also has 65 points with 45 assists of his own. Jakob Chychrun has 47 points with 20 goals and 27 assists as well on the year. In goal for Washington, Logan Thompson has gone 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 save percentage while Charlie Lindgren is 20-14-3 with a 2.73 GAA and an .896 save percentage this season.

Why the Washington Capitals will win

• The Capitals have won six of their last seven games at PPG Paints Arena.
• The Penguins have lost four of their last five games following a home loss.
• The Capitals have covered the puck line in each of their last seven games at PPG Paints Arena.
• The Penguins have failed to cover the puck line in three of their last four games as home underdogs against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Washington Capitals Player Prop Facts

• Alex Ovechkin has recorded at least one point in each of his last 10 appearances against Eastern Conference opponents.
• Tom Wilson has scored a goal in each of the Capitals’ last five games at PPG Paints Arena.
• Dylan Strome has recorded at least one assist in each of the Capitals’ last five games as favorites.

Pittsburgh Penguins Recap

The Pittsburgh Penguins come into this game looking to finish the season right after falling to the Boston Bruins 4-1 last time out to slip to 33-36-12 on the year.

Penguins Trying To End Year On Positive Note

Sidney Crosby has a team-high 89 points of his own with 32 goals and 57 assists while Evgeni Malkin has 50 points with 16 goals and 34 assists. Rickard Rakell has 69 points with 35 goals and 34 assists and Erik Karlsson has 53 points with 11 goals and 42 assists. Bryan Rust also has 63 points with 29 goals and 34 assists. In goal for the Penguins, Joel Blomqvist has gone 4-9-1 with a 3.81 GAA and an .885 save percentage while Tristan Jarry has gone 16-12-6 with a 3.12 GAA and an .893 save percentage this season. Alex Nedeljkovic is also 13-15-5 with a 3.16 GAA and an .894 save percentage on the year.

Why the Pittsburgh Penguins will win

• The Penguins have won four of their last five games as home underdogs.
• The Capitals have lost three of their last four games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.
• The Penguins have covered the puck line in each of their last four games as underdogs.
• The Capitals have failed to cover the puck line in each of their last four games as favorites against Eastern Conference opponents.

Pittsburgh Penguins Player Prop Facts

• Sidney Crosby has scored a goal in each of the Penguins’ last four night games at PPG Paints Arena.
• Ville Koivunen has recorded an assist in each of the Penguins’ last four games.
• Sidney Crosby has recorded at least one point in each of the Penguins’ last 12 games as underdogs.

Total Goals Facts

• Each of the Penguins’ last six games against the Capitals following a loss have gone OVER the total goals line at PPG Paints Arena.
• Each of the last four games between two teams from the Metropolitan Division have gone UNDER the total goals line.
• Four of the Capitals’ last five games against the Penguins following a road win have gone OVER the total goals line.

Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction

I’m backing the Capitals here. I know Washington has nothing but pride and momentum to play for here and it’s probably in their best interest to focus on making it to game one of the first round as healthy as possible. However, the Penguins have shown time and time again this season that they can disappoint in spots where you’d expect them to show up and even if Washington were to give some players some rest, it wouldn’t shock me at all for the Penguins to crank out one more dud to finish the regular season. I think that the Capitals are just the deeper team with far more talent here and I think they get the job done in this game so give me Washington here.