The NHL has 10 games going tonight with a few marquee matchup’s. As per usual most of the money will come in on teams looking to bounce back from a tough loss. This list includes Boston, Colorado, Tampa Bay, Carolina to name a few. These are some of the premier teams in the NHL so don’t be surprised with some major line movement. I have one breakdown and several picks tonight so be sure to scroll to the end of the article to find them all.
Several of the bets are contingent on the starting goalies so please verify that the correct goalie is starting before placing your bets. Be sure to follow me @GatorBetting on Twitter as I will confirm each bet before puck drop. If you have any questions, please feel free to DM me. Several of you already have and I’m always happy to respond.
Chicago Blackhawks @ Washington Capitals
- Time: 7:00 PM ET
- TV Coverage: ESPN+
- Chicago Blackhawks: 7-12-2, 7th Central (2-7-1 Away)
- Washington Capitals: 14-4-5, 1st Metropolitan (7-1-3 Home)
| Team | Opening ML | Current ML | Spread | Total |
| Chicago Blackhawks | +175 | +170 | +1.5 (-140) | o6.0 (-110) |
| Washington Capitals | -195 | -200 | -1.5 (+120) | u6.0 (-110) |
Trends:
- The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Chicago’s last 9 games.
- Chicago are 6-3 SU in their last 9 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington’s last 5 games.
- Washington are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games at home.
Preview:
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals enter this game off an utter collapse on Tuesday. They lost 5-4 to the Florida Panthers allowing four goals in the 3rd period. However, to come to their defense, they were going through a rough stretch of games. They had beaten the Panthers less than a week prior 4-3, and then took down the Carolina Panthers 4-2.
Offensively, the Capitals have been one of the top teams this season. They have a 50.68 xGoals% which is slightly above average. However, they lead the league in Goals For Above Expected with a +14.82. Their ability to capitalize on scoring chances correlates to their Shooting % which currently ranks 3rd at 11.4%. The Capitals have the 2nd best Goals For Per 60 averaging 3.16 only behind Minnesota (3.21). Washington continues to get scoring from their depth players which has been crucial due to the injuries they’ve suffered up front. Nicklas Backstrom remains on long-term injured reserve as he’s recovering from a hip injury. T.J. Oshie was placed on IR for the second time this season after suffering a lower body injury against San Jose on November 20th. Anthony Mantha is still on IR but, they may get Conor Sheary back for this game who’s listed as questionable.
Looking at Washington from a defensive prospective, they’ve been solid with a -6.96 Goals Against Above Expected. Part of their success has been their ability to limit opponents shots as they rank 1st in Shots on Goals Allowed. The Capitals are averaging 1.21 Goals Against Per 60 which again ranks near the top of the league. Although, they did just lose Justin Schultz to IR after suffering an upper body injury vs Montreal.
Ilya Samsonov is expected to start tonight. He has a +4.5 Goals Saved Above Expected on the year through his 12 games played. However, Vitek Vanecek may get the start with a -2.4 GSAx which could be an issue. I’ll touch on this issue later.
Chicago Blackhawks
The Blackhawks have had an interesting start to the year to say the least. After going 1-9-2 to start the season head coach Jeremy Colliton and several assistant coaches were let go. After that, Derek King was called up from the AHL affiliate Rockford IceHogs to take over head coaching duties. I won’t go into it but, the Blackhawks organization has also had some off-ice issues, and I’ll leave it as that. Moving on…
Chicago ranks near the bottom of the league in most offensive categories. In terms of Expected Goals, they rank dead least with a 43.41%. The Blackhawks also rank 31st in Shots on Goal which could be an issue here tonight. Despite this, they rank much better in terms of Goals For Above Expected with only a -2.44. Patrick Kane leads the team in points with 18 through 17 games. In terms of injuries, Chicago is without Brandon Hagel and Tyler Johnson up front tonight.
Defensively, the Blackhawks haven’t been much better ranking 31st in Goals Against Above Expected with a +9.62. They don’t rank much better in terms of Goals Against Per 60 giving up 3.19 on average. This is a major issue tonight as they face a high powered Washington offense. One positive of this Chicago defense is that they have only allowed 26 High Danger Shots Against (2nd best). Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to get the start tonight. After a Vezina Trophy campaign last year, he has gotten off to a slow start with a -4.4 Goals Saved Above Expected. To his credit, he has played much better as of late and like the Blackhawks, looks to be turning things around.
Pick:
After doing some research, the Capitals beat reporters have all indicated that Peter Laviolette is not happy with the team after their loss to Florida. The Capitals rank better in almost every category on both sides of the puck. They should come out with an inspired effort here. Washington has been great at home this year, while Chicago has struggled on the road. I don’t like laying the large price on the moneyline so I’ll take them to win in regulation. Please see the fine print before placing this betas this is completely dependent on the starting goalie for the Washington Capitals.
PICK: WASHINGTON CAPITALS MONEYLINE 3-WAY (-125)
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- THIS BET IS ONLY A GO IF ILYA SAMSONOV STARTS.
Other plays for tonight:
- TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING MONEYLINE 3-WAY (+110)
- The Lightning beat St. Louis in Expected Goals 3.72-2.83 when they faced off two nights ago. Brian Elliot was starting but Vasilevskiy should start tonight so I like them here.
- THIS BET IS ONLY A GO IF ANDREI VASILEVSKIY STARTS.
- NEW JERSEY DEVILS/ MINNESOTA WILD OVER 5.5 (-125)
- Feel free to take the over in this game at 6.0 (-105) as well, this line is moving but I’ll gladly lay the juice here. These teams have been over machines as of late and as indicated by the Devils beat reporters, they should have an inspired effort here. Blackwood hasn’t been great recently and I see this game going over the total.
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting.
