Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki, and the Montreal Canadiens will do battle against John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in an Eastern Conference showdown. The game gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 20, and you’ll be able to see it live on NBC Sports Washington.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Capitals (-190), while the Canadiens are showing moneyline odds of +165, and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -125 over, +105 under at Draftkings Iowa Sportsbook.
Netting 3.6 units for moneyline bettors, Washington is 37-22 straight up (SU) overall this year. That winning percentage, the NHL’s third-strongest so far in this young season, isn’t too far off from to what the team managed during the 2018-19 season (48-34). Of its 59 games this season, 36 have gone over the total, while 21 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 16-13 SU at home this year.
The Capitals have converted on 20.7 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 83.9 percent of all penalties.
With a .897 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Braden Holtby (22-19-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for Washington this season. If head coach Todd Reirden decides to rest him, however, Washington may roll with Ilya Samsonov (16-7-7 record, .917 save percentage, 2.38 goals against average).
On the visiting bench, Montreal is 27-35 straight up (SU) and has lost 16.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. A total of 32 of its matches have gone under the total, while 27 have gone over and just three have pushed. The Canadiens are 14-15 SU as a road team this season.
The Canadiens have converted on 19.6 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 19th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Carey Price (27.5 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Montreal. Price owns a 24-27-5 record, while registering a .910 save percentage and 2.76 goals against average this year.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
Free Prediction: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Capitals are 3-2 in games that go to shootout. The Canadiens are 4-1 in shootouts.
For both of these clubs, the under has hit in three of their past five matchups.
Montreal has attempted 34.1 shots per game overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 30.5 in its last 10 games.
This game features two of the more aggressive teams in the league. Montreal skaters have accounted for the league’s sixth-most hits per game (26.8) and the Caps have handed the sixth-most (24.9).