A couple of teams that’ve positioned themselves squarely in the playoff hunt, the New Jersey Devils and the Washington Capitals meet at Capital One Arena in a Metro Division matchup. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 30, and it can be caught live on NBC Sports Washington.
New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals Odds
Earning moneyline bettors 4.6 units, the Capitals are 23-16 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, ranked fifth in the NHL in this young season, is a regression from the 55-27 record that the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Through 39 regular season outings, 21 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team’s 15-5 SU at home.
Washington has converted on 19.0 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.1 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Washington has been called for penalties 4.4 times per game overall this season, 3.8 per game over its last five contests total, and 4.2 per game over its last five home outings. The team’s had to kill penalties for 8.6 minutes per game over its last five outings, in total.
With a .918 save percentage and 28.4 saves per game, Braden Holtby (21-8) has been the top goalkeeper for the Capitals this year. If head coach Barry Trotz chooses to rest him, however, the Caps may go with Philipp Grubauer (2-11-11 record, .909 save percentage, 2.70 goals against average).
The Caps will continue to lean on the leadership from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. Kuznetsov (39 points) has tallied 12 goals and 27 assists and has recorded two or more points in 10 different games this year. Ovechkin has 24 goals and 14 assists to his name and has notched a point in 21 games.
New Jersey is 22-15 straight up (SU) and has earned 12.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. A total of 19 of its outings have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just one has pushed. As the visiting team so far, New Jersey is 10-7 SU.
New Jersey has converted on 21.4 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked sixth overall and it’s successfully killed off 84.0 percent of all penalties.
New Jersey’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, 3.8 per game over their past five match ups total, and 3.8 per game over their last five on the road. The team has had to kill penalties just 8.0 minutes per game over their last five road outings.
Cory Schneider (.921 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for New Jersey. Schneider is averaging 29.5 saves per game and has 18 wins, 11 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit.
For the visiting Devils, the offense will run through Taylor Hall, who has 24 assists and 12 goals this year.
New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals Free Picks
Predictions: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
The under has hit in three of Washington’s last five games.
Power-play opportunities could be extremely important in this matchup. The Devils are 6-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 9-10 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Capitals are 8-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 12-7 when their penalty minutes are in the single digits.
New Jersey is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
Washington skaters have created 10.6 takeaways per game over its last five home games, an improvement over its season average of 7.1 takeaways per game (ranked 18th in the league).
New Jersey is ranked eighth this season with 8.5 takeaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as it has averaged 9.6 takeaways over its last 10 games and 11.6 takeaways over its last five.
