The Scottrade Center plays host to an East-West showdown as the St. Louis Blues take on the visiting Washington Capitals. It’s the final time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. NBC Sports Washington will broadcast the matchup, and the opening face-off takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Monday, April 2.
Washington Capitals vs. St. Louis Blues Odds
Washington (+125) is currently the underdog to St. Louis (-145), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-110 for the over, -110 for the under).
Washington is 47-32 straight up (SU) and has earned 8.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. 43 of its contests have gone over the total, while 33 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2017-18 Capitals team is 20-20 SU on the road.
Washington has converted on 22.1 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for ninth-best in the league. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.5 percent of all penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Caps have been sent to the penalty box 4.1 times per game during the 2017-18 season, 4.0 per game over its last five total, and 4.6 per game over its last five on the road. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.4 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Sporting a .907 save percentage and 27.7 saves per game, Braden Holtby (32-20-4) has been the primary option in goal for Washington this season. If head coach Barry Trotz chooses to rest him, however, Washington might turn to Philipp Grubauer (15-19-3), who has a .925 save percentage and 2.29 goals against average this year.
Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Capitals. Ovechkin (83 points) is up to 45 goals and 38 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 23 different games. Kuznetsov has 25 goals and 53 assists to his nameand has registered a point in 46 games.
St. Louis is 43-35 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.8 units this season. Through 78 regular season outings, 46 of its games have gone under the total, while 31 have gone over and just one has pushed. This season, the team’s 24-15 SU at home.
The Blues have converted on just 15.6 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 30th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.2 percent of all penalties.
St. Louis players have been sent to the penalty box only 3.3 times per game in total this season, and 2.1 per game over their past ten outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 5.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Jake Allen has stopped 24.6 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for the Blues. Allen has 27 wins, 29 losses, and three overtime losses to his name and has maintained a mediocre 2.71 goals against average and a fairly-weak .906 save percentage this year.
The Blue Notes offense will be led by Brayden Schenn (26 goals, 39 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. St. Louis Blues Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Blues, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Washington is 3-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while St. Louis is 3-0 in shootouts.
The under has hit in three of St. Louis’ last five games.
Over Washington’s last ten games, seven of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-2 in those games).
The Blue Notes this season have tallied the ninth-most hits per game (23.1), but the team’s averaged 27.0 over their past five games as the home team.
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