Squaring off for the final time this year, the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights meet at T-Mobile Arena. This East-West matchup gets started at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, February 17, and it’s being televised live on AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Washington (+115) is currently the underdog to Vegas (-135), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -105 for the over and -115 for the under at William Hill NJ Sportsbook.
Washington is 37-21 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.6 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 58 regular season contests, 36 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just two have pushed. As an away team in 2019-20, the Caps are 21-8 SU.
Washington has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked sixth overall, and it has successfully killed off 83.7 percent of all penalties.
Washington, as a collective unit, has been penalized 4.2 times per game this season, and 3.6 per game over its last five road outings. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Averaging 25.4 saves per game with a .897 save percentage, Braden Holtby (22-18-4) has been the primary option in goal for Washington this year. If head coach Todd Reirden decides to rest him, however, Washington may turn to Ilya Samsonov (16-7-1 record, .917 save percentage, 2.38 goals against average).
The visiting Capitals have relied on John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin this year. Carlson has 69 points via 15 goals and 54 assists, and has recorded multiple points 23 times. Ovechkin has 40 goals and 17 assists to his credit (and has notched at least one point in 33 games).
Vegas is 30-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 60 regular season matches, 30 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just four have pushed. It’s 16-14 SU as the home team this year.
Vegas has converted on 21.8 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for 10th-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.3 percent of all penalties.
The Golden Knights have been penalized 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.6 per game over their last five home outings. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 7.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Marc-Andre Fleury (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in goal for Vegas. Fleury has 22 wins, 20 losses, and five overtime losses to his name and has recorded a poor .905 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average this season.
The Knights will be led on offense by Mark Stone (20 goals, 37 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Vegas Golden Knights Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
For both of these teams, the over has hit in three of their past five outings.
This game features two clubs that fire the puck on goal a lot. Washington has attempted the league’s 10th-most shots on goal (32.1) and Vegas’s attempted the most (34.6). The Caps have averaged 36.6 shot attempts over their last five road games and the Knights have taken 41.2 shots over their last five home outings.
The Capitals are 12-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-10 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
Vegas is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-2 in shootouts.
Vegas has forced 15.2 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 9.7 takeaways per game (ranked 2nd).
Washington skaters have forced 4.0 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.7 takeaways per game (ranked 13th in the NHL).
