Capital One Arena will be hosting an intriguing clash as the Washington Capitals prepare to face the visiting Nashville Predators. It’s the final time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. This East-West matchup will get going at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 29 and it can be caught live on NBC Sports Network.
Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals Odds
Nashville (+135) is entering this one as the underdog to Washington (-155), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 7 goals (-120 to bet the under, +100 for the over) at PointsBet Sports Book.
The Capitals are 34-16 straight up (SU) and have netted 9.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 48-34 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. Through 50 regular season matches, 31 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 15-9 SU at home this season.
Washington’s converted on 20.5 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it’s successfully killed off 84.5 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Washington has been called for penalties 4.2 times per game overall this season, and 2.6 per game over its last five matchups at home. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 8.6 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Sporting a .899 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Braden Holtby (20 wins, 14 losses, and four OT losses) has been the top goalkeeper for the Capitals this season. If head coach Todd Reirden chooses to rest him, however, the Caps may roll with Ilya Samsonov (15-4-4 record, .927 save percentage, 2.06 goals against average).
John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin will each look to continue their strong seasons for the Capitals. Carlson (60 points) has produced 13 goals and 47 assists and has recorded multiple points in 19 different games this year. Ovechkin has 34 goals and 16 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 29 contests.
Over on the visiting bench, Nashville is 22-26 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 48 regular season matches, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. As the away team, Nashville is 11-12 SU so far.
Nashville has converted on just 16.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s ranked 25th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 29th overall and it’s successfully killed off 74.2 percent of all penalties.
Nashville’s players have been penalized 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five match ups. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Pekka Rinne (24.2 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Nashville. Rinne owns a 16-14-3 record, while registering a .897 save percentage and 2.98 goals against average this year.
Roman Josi (14 goals, 34 assists) has been one of the primary playmaking threats for the visiting Predators.
Nashville Predators at Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
Washington is 3-2 in games that go to shootout. Nashville is 1-3 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of Nashville’s last five games.
This game features two clubs that fire the puck on goal a lot. Nashville has attempted the league’s third-most shots on goal (33.9) and Washington has attempted the 10th-most (32.1).
Washington has given up just 2.0 goals per game (while scoring 4.3 per contest) over its four-game winning streak.
Seven of Nashville’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 2-5 in those games.
The Caps this season have recorded the eighth-most hits per game in the NHL (23.7).
