Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Nashville Predators: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/28/2023

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, TN

Where to watch: BSSO, ATTSN-PT

DraftKings: Penguins -135, Predators +115

FanDuel: Penguins -146, Predators +122

BetMGM: Penguins -140, Predators +115

Caesars: Penguins -135, Predators +115

Penguins: 29-21-9

Predators: 29-22-6

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will be playing the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, February 28 in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, February 26 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a score of 7-3. The Pittsburgh Penguins currently rank 5th in the Metropolitan Division.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Brian Dumoulin each had a goal and an assist, and Casey DeSmith made 26 saves for the Penguins (29-21-9), who were coming off a 3-2 overtime win at the St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

"Tonight, we had some looks we were able to finish on," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think we've generated a lot of quality looks here over the last handful of games. It's nice that our guys got rewarded tonight for it, for sure."

Drew O'Connor put Pittsburgh ahead 1-0 at 3:20 of the first period with a redirection in front.

"I think we've just kind of responded in a good way after a tough week (lost previous four prior to St. Louis win)," O'Connor said. "I think yesterday was a really good game for us. I think we kind of just continued that today."

Anthony Cirelli tied it 1-1 at 16:06 when the rebound of Zach Bogosian's slap shot deflected in off his shin. Nikita Kucherov gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead at 18:05, chipping in his own rebound during a 4-on-4.

Malkin tied it 2-2 at 6:17 of the second period, receiving a stretch pass from Josh Archibald as he exited the penalty box before scoring five-hole on a breakaway. Crosby put the Penguins in front 3-2 with a power-play goal at 15:28, finishing a backhand pass from Jake Guentzel at the right post.

Teddy Blueger made it 4-2 at 16:20 when he dove to knock in a loose puck after Marcus Pettersson's shot caromed back into the crease off the end boards. It was just his second goal this season and first since Dec. 6 (33 games).

"Just overall, good team effort," Blueger said. "Had to fight through it. It's obviously a good feeling to score at any time, but especially when you haven't done it in a while."

Jeff Carter extended the lead to 5-2 at 17:50 with a wrist shot from the right circle, and Jason Zucker scored 47 seconds later on a backhand in front to make it 6-2.

Dumoulin pushed it to 7-2 at 19:55 with his first goal of the season, a slap shot from the point off a face-off win by Crosby. Brayden Point made it 7-3 at 7:57 of the third period, scoring from the low slot off a set up by Kucherov for a power-play goal.

The Pittsburgh Penguins scored six goals in the second period, including five in a 4:27 span, to pull away from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 7-3.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won five of their last 10 games.

The Nashville Predators won against the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday, February 26 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona with a score of 6-2. The Nashville Predators currently rank 5th in the Central Division.

Roman Josi had two goals and an assist for the Nashville Predators. Tommy Novak and Matt Duchene each had a goal and two assists, Yakov Trenin and Cody Glass each had a goal and an assist, and Juuse Saros made 25 saves for the Predators (29-22-6), who have won three in a row and four of their past five games.

"That [win] was huge. We're still fighting here. We still believe that we can make the [Stanley Cup] Playoffs," Duchene said. "Hopefully we don't lose many more guys."

Forward Tanner Jeannot did not play due to trade-related reasons and was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Cal Foote and five draft picks following the game. Juuso Parssinen, who was also a late scratch, is day to day with an upper-body injury.

"A big thing we talked about is just trying to make sure that we can control we can control," Nashville coach John Hynes said. "You can't do anything about the decisions that get made, but what we can do is try to have a strong focus level."

The Predators played with 10 forwards and seven defensemen.

"It was [a] tough game for the forwards," Josi said. "There's so much skating for them but they did an amazing job and battled hard and played hard. I'm very proud of this team."

Shayne Gostisbehere gave Arizona a 1-0 lead at 5:55 of the first period, scoring a short-handed goal on a partial breakaway off a give-and-go with Schmaltz. Trenin tied it 1-1 at 9:02. With Ingram out of position following a save near the left post on Philip Tomasino, Trenin had his rebound attempt go in off the skate of Coyotes defenseman Troy Stecher.

Duchene gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 13:48, scoring off Ingram on a one-timer from the goal line off a backhand pass by Glass. Josi extended it to 3-1 at 2:39 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle before Nick Schmaltz cut it to 3-2 at 7:27, scoring on a wrist shot from the slot.

Novak responded for Nashville to make it 4-2 at 3:28 of the third period when he jammed in a loose puck near the left post after the rebound by Mikael Granlund squeaked through Ingram.

Novak has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak.

"I'm playing more, getting more puck touches," Novak said. "My confidence keeps going up … and we're finishing right now."

Josi made it 5-2 at 6:02 on a power play, scoring with a one-timer after receiving a no-look backhand pass by Novak from the left circle. Glass then scored from the right circle on another power play at 18:17 for the 6-2 final.

Nashville was 2-for-3 with the man-advantage. Arizona was 0-for-5.

Nashville was playing its first game without forward Nino Niederreiter, who was traded to the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. Earlier Sunday, the team announced David Poile, who has been the Predators' general manager since July 9, 1997, will retire on June 30.

"It's been a really tough last 24 hours plus, that's for sure," Duchene said. "The win feels good, but I don't remember playing a game with my heart in my throat quite like that."

Duchene, who has played 961 NHL games, said it was the first time starting a game with only nine other forwards.

"I think the last time I played with 10 was high school hockey," he said.

The Nashville Predators have won six of their last 10 games.

Prediction

Never count out the Penguins. Especially this time of year. Penguins 4, Predators 3

Penguins are 11-21 when playing a 3rd game in 5 days.

Penguins are 17-12 off a home win by 3 goals or more the last 3 seasons.

Predators are 9-2 off 2 straight overs this season.

Penguins:

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust

Brock McGinn -- Jeff Carter -- Danton Heinen

Drew O'Connor -- Teddy Blueger -- Josh Archibald

Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson -- Jeff Petry

Pierre-Olivier Joseph -- Jan Rutta

Tristan Jarry

Predators:

Mikael Granlund -- Cody Glass -- Philip Tomasino

Filip Forsberg -- Tommy Novak -- Matt Duchene

Yakov Trenin -- Juuso Parssinen -- Kiefer Sherwood

Cole Smith -- Colton Sissons -- Tanner Jeannot

Ryan McDonagh -- Roman Josi

Mattias Ekholm -- Jeremy Lauzon

Alexandre Carrier -- Dante Fabbro

Juuse Saros