The Washington Capitals are making their second-to-last stop in a current six-game road trip that will finish on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Waiting for them later tonight are the Edmonton Oilers, who are eager to avenge their recent loss to Washington. Will the Capitals score yet another victory at the expense of Edmonton? Or will the Oilers return the favor this time around, while also adding to the woes of Washington? With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Capitals-Oilers prediction for this showdown scheduled at 8:30 PM ET.

Here are the Capitals-Oilers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel

NHL Odds: Capitals-Oilers Odds

Washington Capitals +1.5 (-188)

Edmonton Oilers: -1.5 (+152)

Over: 6.5 (-120)

Under: 6.5 (-102)

Why The Capitals Could Cover The Spread

Washington isn't in a good shape, having lost both its last two games. The Capitals suffered a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Seattle Kraken last Thursday and then again to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, 5-2. So far in their current six-game road trip that reaches its fifth leg in Edmonton, the Caps have only gone 1-2-1, while getting outscored, 10-14. While Washington has played poorly since the start of its current road trip, it can't be counted out for its second meeting this season against the Oilers. For one, the Capitals won the first showdown against Edmonton at home back on Nov. 7 to the tune of a 5-4 score.

Washington scored the first two goals of the contest and capitalized on several power-play chances provided to it. In fact, the Capitals went 4 of 5 on the man advantage. It's such a huge advantage for the Capitals in that contest to have that many chances power-play opportunities, and it's the wildest idea to expect Washington's special teams to come up huge again this Monday night. After all, the Oilers are giving up the most number of power-play opportunities in the NHL this season, so far. Edmonton is also one of the worst in terms of penalty killing, ranking 28th in the league with a 70.41 PK%. Alex Ovechkin, who leads the Caps in goals (13), points (25), and power-play goals (6), must be salivating over the prospect of torching Edmonton's special teams which have taken quite a pounding, especially of late.

Over their last four games, the Oilers have allowed seven power-play goals on 16 opportunities. The Great Eight has three goals and three assists in the last five Washington games. Evgeni Kuznetsov and Dylan Strome, meanwhile, combined for four goals and three assists in the win against the Oilers. The total has hit the Under in six of the last seven games of Washington, which is averaging 2.73 goals per contest.

Why The Oilers Could Cover The Spread

Despite their aforementioned recent struggles in killing penalties, the Oilers have been busy collecting wins of late. They are 4-1 in their last five games. Following their 5-4 road loss to the Minnesota Wild last Thursday, the Oilers took down the Montreal Canadiens at home Saturday, 5-3. Unlike the Capitals, Edmonton's offense is humming and it doesn't really need power-play chances to continue popping. Edmonton has scored at least four goals in each of its last four wins. What else do you expect from a team that features a lethal top line which has the duo of Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid?

In the last five Edmonton games, Draisaitl has found the back of the net six times while also adding five helpers. McDavid, meanwhile, netted in five goals with seven assists over that same stretch. Just a little show of better discipline this time around than in the first meeting with Washington could spell the difference for the Oilers, whose 1-goal loss to the Capitals despite Edmonton's bumbling special teams underscored their incredible ability to generate offense.

The Oilers, who enjoyed just a single power-play shift in the first matchup versus Washington, were outshot by only a slim margin (31-29) and even had just as many high-danger shots (12) as the Capitals overall in that contest. With at least a couple of bodies on the blue line out for Washington, the Oilers' attack could see more than usual chances to get into the offensive zone and find great spots to take shots. The Oilers, who are fifth in the NHL in 5-on-5 expected goals for (58.4), have won four of the last five times they got a visit from Washington in Edmonton.

Final Capitals-Oilers Prediction & Pick

The Capitals aren't going to score four power-play goals again, but the Oilers will get their shots and take control of the game early. Taking the Oilers to cover.

Final Capitals-Oilers Prediction & Pick: Oilers -1.5 (+152)