The Washington Capitals, spearheaded by John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin, are set to take the ice against Teuvo Teravainen, Andrei Svechnikov, and the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena for a divisional showdown. The opening face-off is at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 28, and it can be seen live on NBC Sports Washington.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes Odds
The Hurricanes (-120) are being picked as the favorites over the Capitals (+100), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 for the over and +100 for the under.
Washington is 27-12 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 8.6 units this year. Through 39 regular season outings, 24 of its games have gone over the total, while 14 have gone under and none have pushed. The Caps are 16-5 SU on the road in 2019-20.
Washington has converted on 20.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked second overall, and it has successfully killed off a whopping 85.1 percent of its penalties..
With a .907 save percentage and 26.8 saves per game, Braden Holtby (17-10-4) has been the best option in goal for Washington this season. If Washington chooses to rest him, however, they might turn to Ilya Samsonov (10-4-1 record, .918 save percentage, 2.28 goals against average).
On the other bench, Carolina is 22-16 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 20 of its contests have gone under the total, while 17 have gone over and none have pushed. It’s 10-6 SU at home this year.
The Hurricanes have converted on 23.1 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked ninth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.6 percent of all penalties.
Petr Mrazek has denied 24.0 shots per game as the top option in the crease for the Hurricanes. Mrazek has 14 wins, 10 losses, and two overtime losses and has registered a poor .902 save percentage and 2.69 goals against average this season.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes Free Picks
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Over Carolina’s last ten outings, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-3 in those games).
- Power plays and penalty kills could be critical tonight. The Capitals are 8-4 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 12-5 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Hurricanes are 7-3 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 12-10 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Washington (3-2 in shootouts) has more shootout experience coming into this one. Carolina, however, emerged victorious in both of its shootouts this year.
- The total has gone under in three of Carolina’s last five outings.
- Washington skaters have averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.4 giveaways per game (ranked 16th in the NHL).
- Carolina has averaged 12.2 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 10.6 giveaways per game (ranked 19th overall).
- Washington skaters have dished out the seventh-most hits in the league (24.2 per game).
