A pair of teams that both played games last night, the New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals collide at Capital One Arena in a Metropolitan Division tilt. Sportsnet ONE will broadcast the game, which gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, March 16.
New York Islanders at Washington Capitals Odds
With a moneyline of -215, Washington enters the game as the obvious favorite. The line for New York sits at +180 and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at an even 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Netting moneyline bettors 4.4 units, the Capitals are 40-30 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That winning percentage, the best in the Metropolitan Division so far in the early season, is a noticeable slide from what the team managed during last year’s regular season (55-27). Through 70 regular season contests, 38 of its games have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team’s 24-11 SU at home this season.
Washington’s converted on 22.3 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for fourth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 16th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.3 percent of all penalties.
As a team, Washington has been called for penalties 4.0 times per game overall this season, and 2.4 per game over its past five contests. The team’s had to kill penalties for just 4.8 minutes per game over its last five outings, overall.
Averaging 27.7 saves per game with a .907 save percentage, Braden Holtby (29-19-4) has been the primary option in goal for the Capitals this year. If they choose to give him the night off, however, the team could go with Philipp Grubauer (11-18-18 record, .925 save percentage, 2.26 goals against average).
The Caps will continue to rely on leadership out of Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ovechkin (75 points) has tallied 42 goals and 33 assists and has recorded two or more points 20 times this year. Kuznetsov has 21 goals and 48 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 41 contests.
On the other side of the rink, New York is 30-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.2 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 70 regular season contests, 41 of its games have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and just three have pushed. New York’s 14-23 SU as a road team this season.
New York has converted on 20.3 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 30th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.0 percent of all opponent power plays.
New York’s players have been penalized only 3.3 times per game in total this season, and 2.2 per game over their last ten outings. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 5.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jaroslav Halak (3.22 goals against average and .908 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for New York. Halak is averaging 29.6 saves per game and has 18 wins, 30 losses, and six overtime losses to his credit.
For the visiting Islanders, the offense will run through Mathew Barzal (18 goals, 52 assists) and John Tavares (31 goals, 38 assists).
New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Islanders, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Trends
The under has hit in four of Washington’s last five outings.
New York has managed 29.4 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Washington is averaging 34.4 shots per game over its last five home outings.
Power plays and penalty kills could prove to be extremely important tonight. The Islanders are 11-22 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 19-31 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total. The Capitals are 13-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 23-15 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Two of New York’s last ten games have gone to a shootout. The team is 0-2 in those games and 3-3 overall in shootouts this season.
Washington is ranked 17th with 7.1 takeaways per game. That figure’s trended lower recently, however, as it has managed 6.3 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 takeaways over its last five.
New York has managed 7.8 takeaways per game over its last five road games, an improvement over its season average of 6.4 takeaways per game (ranked 24th).
Washington might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s 17-12 in games decided by one goal, while New York is 12-17 in such games.
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