NHL Betting Preview: Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Game 3 Odds

The Pittsburgh Penguins won a low-scoring Game 2 to even their second-round series with the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

The Penguins will try to keep their home-ice edge when they host the Capitals on Monday in Game 3 as consensus -140 betting favorites (bet $140 to win $100) at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.

Pittsburgh winger Eric Fehr scored the game-winning goal in the third period for a 2-1 victory in Game 2 at Washington to help his team rebound from a tough 4-3 overtime loss in Game 1 that saw T.J. Oshie finish with a hat trick for the winning team.

Despite tying the series, the Penguins lost defenseman Olli Maatta to a head injury after only 31 seconds courtesy of Brooks Orpik, who was suspended three games for his hit, per NHL.com.

The 21-year-old Maatta averages about 20 minutes per game and was Pittsburgh’s first-round pick in 2012. He had 19 points in the regular season on six goals and 13 assists, and his loss should motivate the Pens as they seek revenge in Game 2.

The 35-year-old Orpik was averaging more ice time in the playoffs than Maatta and is also a former first-round pick of Pittsburgh back in 2000, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2009.

Overshadowed by the hit was the stellar play of goaltender Matt Murray for the Pens, as he made 23 saves to improve to 4-1 in the postseason.

The rookie took the loss in Game 1 after turning away 31 of 35 shots, his only setback in five games overall. Murray has stopped 139 of 148 shots overall in the playoffs for a save percentage of .939 with one shutout.

The under cashed in Game 2 for totals bettors for the first time in six meetings, according to the Odds Shark NHL database.

The leading scorers for both teams have yet to light the lamp in the series through the first two games, with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin going 0-of-11 on shots between them.

Ovechkin, the NHL’s top goal scorer during the regular season with 50, did have an assist in Game 1, but he has not scored a goal since tallying two in Game 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the playoffs.