On a night where there are a few highly anticipated matchups throughout the NHL, the Washington Capitals will look to bounce back from a recent loss as they take on an underachieving Columbus Blue Jackets squad. It is time to check out our NHL odds series where our Capitals-Blue Jackets prediction and pick will be revealed.
Fresh off of a disheartening 5-1 loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs out on the road, Washington has now lost three of their past four games and are looking to play better when it comes to the fundamentals of hockey in order to keep their playoff hopes alive. At the moment, the Capitals are 26-20-1 and sit four points behind the. New York Rangers for third place in the Metropolitan Division Standings.
As for the Blue Jackets, Columbus has seen their season take a turn for the worst as they have oftentimes struggled to find ways to score and have also gone down in six of their previous eight games played. Nevertheless, Columbus has still shown glimpses that they are capable of covering the spread and will be backed by the home crowd tonight to accomplish that feat.
Here are the Capitals-Blue Jackets NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Capitals-Blue Jackets Odds
Washington Capitals: -1.5 (+118)
Columbus Blue Jackets: +1.5 (-144)
Over: 6.5 (-102)
Under: 6.5 (-120)
How To Watch Capitals vs. Blue Jackets
TV: ESPN+
Stream: NHLPP/ESPN+
Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Capitals Could Cover The Spread
The single handily most important aspect of this contest that the Capitals will want to try to take advantage of will come in the form of putting together a solid effort on the offensive side of the ice. After only garnering a lone goal in the loss to Toronto, the Capitals will look for better opportunities on the attack, especially for a team that is averaging a not-too-shabby 3.10 goals per game.
For starters, the ‘Caps must find ways to get their top stars involved from the jump. Whether it is Alex Ovechkin sniping shots from the outside, or center Evgeny Kuznetsov finding creases to dish out assists on the ice, Washington certainly has the ability and talent to make Columbus' defense pay. One area of concern for the Capitals that has far too often reared its ugly head has been their shakiness on the power-play attack. As it stands, Washington scores only roughly 20.6% of the time when given an extra-man advantage and will need to capitalize on the Blue Jackets' mistakes in order to cover the spread in a going-away fashion. Alas, Columbus also hasn't been very effective in their killing of penalties, so this could serve as a hefty edge when it comes to covering.
Above all else, Washington will need for goalie Darcy Keumper to have a more productive outing after he was pulled halfway through the loss to the Maple Leafs after giving up four goals on 20 shots. As a whole, last year's Stanley Cup champion net-minder has been a solid addition to the ‘Caps this season, but he will need to have a short memory in order to get back on track.
Why The Blue Jackets Could Cover The Spread
When it comes to the Blue Jackets' ability to log some solid ice-time in order to cover the spread, Columbus must figure out a way to be more productive offensively. Despite Columbus only coming away with three goals combined in their previous pair of defeats as well as only averaging a league-low 2.44 scores per contest, there is still hope for the Blue Jackets to cover the spread in large part due to left-winger Johnny Gaudreau.
Coming from Calgary, Gaudreau decided to pack his bags to Ohio and become the main focal point of Columbus' offensive attack. While victories have been far and few between, Gaudreau is having yet another solid campaign statistically as he leads the club with 35 assists and 48 points total in 50 games played. Without a doubt, the 29-year-old American native could be the sole source of offensive firepower for the Blue Jackets this evening.
While finding a way to score more frequently could get the job done tonight, Columbus will need to have goalie Joonas Korpisalo to be on his A game. Like the Capitals with Keumper, Korpisalo is coming off of a difficult outing back on the 27th in which he allowed five goals to the Vancouver Canucks in a loss. Clearly, Korpisalo's numbers don't jump out at you, but he certainly has the skill set to put together an impressive start over the course of 60 minutes played.
Final Capitals-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick
Even though both sides aren't playing great as of late, it will end up being the Columbus Blue Jackets who are able to cover the spread and hopefully garner some much-needed momentum moving forward in front of the home fans.
Final Capitals-Blue Jackets Prediction & Pick: Blue Jackets +1.5 (-144)
Follow Us
Subscribe