In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche clash at the Pepsi Center in an East-West tilt. Altitude Sports & Entertainment will broadcast the action, which gets going at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 16.
Washington Capitals vs. Colorado Avalanche Odds
Washington heads into the game as the favorite with a -120 moneyline. The line for Colorado sits at +100 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -115 money on the over and -105 for the under.
Washington is 10-9 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 10 of its outings have gone over the total, while nine have gone under and none have pushed. As an away team this season, the Caps are 5-6 SU.
Washington has converted on 19.4 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 24th out of 31 teams, and it’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Caps have been sent to the penalty box 4.7 times per game this season, 4.2 per game over its last five matchups total, and 4.2 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays 9.4 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
With a .918 save percentage and 28.7 saves per game, Braden Holtby (10-4) has been the top option in goal for Washington this year. If Washington chooses to rest him, however, they could turn to Philipp Grubauer (0-7-1 record, .890 save percentage, 3.49 goals against average).
The visiting Capitals have relied on Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin heavily this season. Kuznetsov has 20 points on three goals and 17 assists, and has recorded two or more points five times. Ovechkin has 13 goals and six assists to his credit (and has registered at least one point in 11 games).
Over on the other bench, Colorado is 8-8 straight up (SU) and has earned 2.2 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 16 regular season outings, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. It’s 5-2 SU at home this year.
The Avalanche have converted on just 20.6 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 25th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Colorado players have been penalized 4.6 times per game in total this season, and 2.8 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Semyon Varlamov (31.5 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for the Avalanche. Varlamov has six wins, four losses, and one overtime loss and has registered a poor .908 save percentage and 3.18 goals against average this year.
The Avs will be led on offense by Nathan MacKinnon (five goals, 10 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Colorado Avalanche Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Avalanche, O/U – Under
Betting Trends:
- The over has hit in each of Colorado’s last five games.
- Colorado has allowed 3.4 goals per game (overall) this season, but has given up 4.7 goals per matchup over its three-game losing streak.
- 87.5 percent of Colorado’s wins have come by two or more goals (the team is 7-5 overall in such games) while only 40.0 percent of Washington’s wins have come by two goals or more (4-6 overall in such games).
