The NHL slows down the action on Friday, January 20, as we have only two games on the schedule, and here you can take a look at the Senators vs. Penguins betting pick and odds.

Ottawa and Pittsburgh will play a rematch of Wednesday’s game in Canada when they meet at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins are -149 moneyline favorites on BetDSI Sportsbook, while the total is set at 6.5 goals. These conference rivals will face for the second time in three days; the Senators won 5-4 in Ottawa.

Senators snatched an OT victory against the Penguins

The Ottawa Senators (20-21-3-0, 26-18 ATS) avoided the third loss in a row with a 5-4 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. The Senators did lose four of the previous six games and are currently in 14th place in the Eastern Conference with eight points behind Pittsburgh. After this game in Pennsylvania, Ottawa will return home for a two-game stay against the Jets and Islanders.

The Senators completely deserved to beat the Penguins on Wednesday as they attempted 40 shots opposite Pittsburgh’s 19. However, the visitors did enough to force overtime and then Brady Tkachuk scored a winner with only 25 seconds into OT to make it 5-4 for the Sens. Cameron Talbot didn’t have a good game as he recorded just 15 saves. Tkachuk dominated with four points, while Thomas Chabot dished out three assists. This season, Tkachuk leads the team in points with 46 (G 16, 30 A); Tim Stutzle follows him with 42 (G 20, A 22), while Drake Batherson has 40 (G 14, A 26).

Anton Forsberg (8-9-2) is a probable goaltender against the Penguins on Friday. The 30-year-old is allowing 3.25 goals per game this year with a .902 SV% and one shutout.

RW Tyler Motte (finger), C Rourke Chartier (upper body), D Nikita Zaitsev (lower body), and D Artyom Zub (lower body) are out indefinitely.

Penguins salvaged a point in Ottawa

The Pittsburgh Penguins (22-15-7-0, 18-26 ATS) suffered their third defeat in four games as they fell short of the Ottawa Senators on the road. The Penguins beat the Ducks in OT at home, but their luck changed in Canada as the Sens were a better team and Pittsburgh should be happy with forced overtime and a point. Pittsburgh is not playing well over the last month and dropped to 8th position in the East.

The Penguins had only 19 shots but managed to score four goals in a 5-4 OT loss to the Senators. Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby registered three points each, while Casey DeSmith had 35 saves. So far this year, Crosby is Pittsburgh’s most valuable player with 52 points (G 21, A 31). Malkin contributes 44 (G 16, A 28), while Jake Guentzel is the team’s third star with 39 points (G 18, A 21).

Casey DeSmith (6-9-3) is likely going to start against Ottawa on Friday. The 31-year-old is conceding 3.21 goals per contest this season along with a .904 SV% and no shutouts.

D Jeff Petry (upper body) and D Kris Letang (lower body) are out indefinitely. G Tristan Jarry (lower body), D Jan Rutta (undisclosed), and C Ryan Poehling (upper body) are questionable to face the Senators on Friday.

Trends:

Ottawa:

  • 0-9 in the last nine games when playing on the road against Pittsburgh
  • 2-4 in the last six games
  • 2-5 in the last seven games on the road

Pittsburgh:

  • 10-3 in the last 13 games playing on one day of rest
  • 8-4 in the last 12 games at home

Ottawa Senators vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Pick

Pittsburgh has an excellent record against Ottawa at home in recent years; the Penguins won nine consecutive H2Hs at PPG Paints Arena and I am backing them to make it ten straight. They will be motivated to get a little revenge for Wednesday’s OT loss, so I expect the Penguins to be much better offensively after attempting only 19 shots in Ottawa. Pittsburgh does have better offense and defense than the Senators and more experienced players. Crosby and Malkin, who produced six combined points on Wednesday, will have another fruitful display here.

Pick: Take the Penguins to win (-149)

The Total

Another high-scoring affair is on the cards on Friday. Anton Forsberg conceded 13 goals in his last three starts, while Casey DeSmith allows 3.62 goals per game in January. I am backing each team to score 3+ goals here. Ottawa surrendered 27 goals in the last six games. Over is 6-1 in the last seven H2H meetings; Over is 4-0 in the previous four H2H duels in Pittsburgh, while Over is 20-8-1 in the Penguins’ last 29 games playing on one day of rest.

Pick: Go Over 6.5 goals (-110)