The Washington Capitals, led by John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin, are set to take the ice against Mathew Barzal, Brock Nelson, and the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum in a Metro Division tilt. The action gets started at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 18, and you will be able to view it live on NBC Sports Washington.
Washington Capitals at New York Islanders Odds
Washington is 32-16 straight up (SU) and has earned 6.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 48 regular season matches, 29 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and none have pushed. As a road team in 2019-20, the Caps are 17-7 SU.
Washington has converted on 20.8 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and the team’s successfully killed off a whopping 84.4 percent of its penalties..
With a .899 save percentage and 25.9 saves per game, Braden Holtby (18-14-4) has been the best option in goal for Washington this year. If head coach Todd Reirden decides to rest him, however, the team could turn to Ilya Samsonov (14-4-1), who has a .926 save percentage and 2.10 goals against average this year.
On the other side of the ice, New York is 28-18 straight up (SU) and has earned 8.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 46 regular season contests, 25 of its games have gone under the total, while 18 have gone over and just two have pushed. This year, the team’s 15-9 SU at home.
The Islanders have converted on just 18.3 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.0 percent of all penalties.
Semyon Varlamov has denied 25.8 shots per game as the primary option in goal for the Islanders. Varlamov has 16 wins, 14 losses, and four OT losses and has maintained a .918 save percentage and 2.50 goals against average this season.
Washington Capitals at New York Islanders Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
The Capitals are 10-6 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 16-8 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
New York is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-2 in shootouts.
Washington is ranked 22nd this season with 10.9 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it’s averaged 13.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 12.6 giveaways over its last five.
New York skaters have averaged 19.6 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 15.1 giveaways per game (ranked 32nd in the NHL).
This game features two of the more physical defenses in the league. Washington skaters have dished out the ninth-most hits in the league (23.6 per game) while the Isles have registered the most (29.4).