Two clubs squaring off for the first time this year, the Minnesota Wild and the Washington Capitals face off at Capital One Arena in an East-West showdown. The action gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, November 18, and you’ll be able to see the game live on NBC Sports Washington.
Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals Odds
Minnesota (+115) is playing the role of underdog to Washington (-135), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 5 goals (-140 for the over, +120 for the under). Those O/U odds have shifted after initially opening at -135 over, +115 under.
Washington is 10-10 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.7 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a noticeable slide from what the team managed during the 2016-17 season (55-27). Through 20 regular season outings, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while nine have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team is 5-3 SU at home.
The Capitals have converted on 19.4 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 27th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 77.8 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, the Capitals have been penalized 5.0 times per game overall this season, and 4.2 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to kill penalties for 10.2 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
With a .918 save percentage and 28.7 saves per game, Braden Holtby (10-4) has been the primary goalkeeper for Washington this season. If the Caps choose to rest him, however, the team might roll with the winless Philipp Grubauer (0-8-8 record, .876 save percentage, 3.86 goals against average).
The Caps will continue looking for leadership from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. Kuznetsov (21 points) has tallied four goals and 17 assists and has recorded two or more points five times this year. Ovechkin has 13 goals and six assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 11 contests.
Minnesota is 9-9 straight up (SU) and has lost 1.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 18 regular season matches, nine of its games have gone over the total, while seven have gone under and just two have pushed. The Wild are 4-5 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Wild have converted on 17.5 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked fourth overall and it’s successfully killed off 85.7 percent of all penalties.
Minnesota’s skaters have been penalized only 3.7 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last ten games. The teams had to kill penalties just 6.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Devan Dubnyk (28.4 saves per game) has been the main choice in the net for Minnesota. Dubnyk owns an 8-7-1 record, while registering a .922 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Wild will be Eric Staal (seven goals, 10 assists) and Jason Zucker (11 goals, five assists).
Minnesota Wild at Washington Capitals Betting Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The under has hit in three of Washington’s last five outings.
- 40.0 percent of Washington’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 4-7 overall in games decided by at least two scores) while 77.8 percent of Minnesota’s wins have come by two goals or more (7-4 overall in such games).
