Two franchises that split their season series 1-1 last year, the Winnipeg Jets and the Washington Capitals take the ice at Capital One Arena. The puck drops at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 25, and you are able to catch this East-West matchup live on NBC Sports Washington.
Winnipeg Jets vs. Washington Capitals Odds
With a moneyline of -180, Washington comes into the game as the heavy favorite. The line for Winnipeg is standing at +160. If you want to put some action on the matchup’s Over/Under (O/U) total, you’ll be looking at -105 for over 7 goals and +-115 for under under..
The Capitals are 38-24 straight up (SU) and have netted moneyline bettors 0.6 units this year. That win percentage, the league’s third-best so far this season, hasn’t moved much from what the team managed during last year’s regular season (48-34). Among its 62 games this season, 38 have gone over the total, while 22 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 17-14 SU at home this year.
Washington’s converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fourth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 83.5 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Washington has been penalized 4.1 times per game overall this season, and 3.2 per game over its past five outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 8.8 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
Averaging 25.6 saves per game with a .897 save percentage, Braden Holtby (23-20-5) has been the top goalkeeper for the Capitals this season. If they choose to rest him, however, the team could turn to Ilya Samsonov (16-8-8 record, .916 save percentage, 2.41 goals against average).
John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin will both look to continue their strong seasons for the Capitals. Carlson (72 points) has tallied 15 goals and 57 assists and has recorded two or more points in 23 different games this year. Ovechkin has 42 goals and 17 assists to his credit and has notched at least one point in 35 contests.
Winnipeg has earned moneyline bettors 2.4 units this year and is currently 32-32 straight up (SU). A total of 34 of its contests have gone under the total, while 28 have gone over and just two have pushed. As the visiting team, Winnipeg is 16-15 SU.
Winnipeg has converted on 20.4 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 25th overall and it’s successfully defended 77.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Winnipeg’s skaters have been penalized only 3.2 times per game in total this season, 3.2 per game over their last five games total, and 3.6 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 11.0 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Connor Hellebuyck (28.4 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Winnipeg. Hellebuyck owns a 27-25-5 record, and has registered a .918 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average this year.
For the visiting Jets, the offense will be facilitated through Mark Scheifele (26 goals, 41 assists) and Kyle Connor (30 goals, 33 assists).
Winnipeg Jets at Washington Capitals Free Picks
NHL Prediction: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in four of Winnipeg’s last five games.
- Penalties and power plays may be critical in this one. The Jets are 15-19 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 21-28 when they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Capitals are 12-10 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 20-13 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Washington is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Winnipeg is 3-1 in shootouts.
- Washington has managed 11.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.8 takeaways per game (ranked 11th in the NHL).
- Winnipeg is ranked 23rd overall with 6.7 takeaways per game. That figure has trended lower lately, however, as it’s averaged 5.8 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.8 takeaways over its last five.
