The top two teams in the East Division square off when the Washington Capitals take on the New York Islanders. Washington defeated New York the last time these teams met on March 16, 3-1.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division battle at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. New York is the favorite at -130. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, which puts the odds for Washington at +110 as the underdog.
Washington has no new injuries. New York lost left-wing Michael Dal Colle to a lower-body injury. He will be out until early April.
Rangers Down Capitals
Washington (23-8-4) took a 2-0 lead five minutes into Tuesday’s contest against the New York Rangers, only to see New York battled back with five straight goals to win, 5-2. Vitek Vanecek gave up four goals on 26 shots. TJ Oshie and Nic Dowd each scored a goal for the Capitals.
Washington is third in goals per game at 3.40, scoring on 12.2% of their shots, first overall. They are ninth on the power-play at 23.9%. Nicklas Backstrom leads the team with 37 points. Alex Ovechkin is starting to catch fire, scoring four goals over his last four games, and now leads Washington with 18 goals.
The Capitals are allowing 2.91 goals per game, 18th overall. They are 10th in penalty killing at 81.3%. Vanecek is 14-6-3 with a 2.73 GAA and a .907 save percentage. He had allowed four total goals in his previous three contests.
Islanders Fall in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead over New York (22-10-4) and hung on for a 2-1 victory over the Islanders. Both teams scored a power-play goal. New York’s came off the stick of Matt Martin. Semyon Varlamov played well between the pipes, stopping 20 of 22 shots.
New York is allowing 2.31 goals per game, third in the NHL. They have had a solid penalty kill, 12th in the league at 80.4%. Varlamov is 14-7-3 with a 2.19 GAA and a .822 save percentage. He has allowed three total goals over his last two appearances.
The Islanders are averaging 2.89 goals per game, 15th overall. The power-play is connecting on 19.6% of their chances, 21st in the league. New York is led in scoring by Matthew Barzal with 28 points. Nick Leddy leads the team with 24 assists and Brock Nelson and Anders Lee are tied for the team lead in goals with 12.
Trends:
Washington:
- 17-5 in their last 22 games.
- 4-0 in their last four games against teams with a winning record.
New York:
- 2-5 in their last seven games against teams with a winning percentage greater than 60%.
The Capitals saw their three-game winning streak come to an end against the Rangers, and are not likely to lose for the second straight time to a team from New York. Washington has not lost back-to-back games since they lost four in a row to start February, that was almost 7 weeks ago. This team rebounds well and knows how to keep the momentum going. New York plays a great game, but Washington still wins.
Pick: Take Washington at +110.
The Total:
These teams have gone under in four of the last six meetings between them, including four of the last six meetings in New York. With the kind of goaltending that these teams are getting, that is not a surprising number. I acknowledge that the Capitals have been playing very well offensively, but they can be held down as the Rangers were able to do. Look for a contest that ends with five total goals scored.
Pick: Go under 5.5 at -125.