Capital One Arena will play host to an East-West showdown as the Washington Capitals take on the visiting Nashville Predators. It’s the final time that the two clubs will go at it in the regular season. The match gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 5 and it’s being shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Nashville Predators vs. Washington Capitals Odds
With a -115 moneyline, Nashville enters the matchup as the narrow favorite. The line for Washington sits at -105, and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -105 for the over and -115 for the under.
Nashville is 51-29 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 12.3 units this year. Through 80 regular season outings, 40 of its games have gone under the total, while 39 have gone over and just one has pushed. The Preds are 24-16 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Nashville has converted on 20.2 percent of its power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, it has the eighth-best penalty kill in the league, and the team’s successfully killed off 82.3 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, the Preds have been penalized 4.5 times per game in the 2017-18 season, 4.8 per game over its last five contests total, and 4.0 per game over its last five games as the visiting team. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays just 8.0 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Averaging 29.0 saves per game with a .927 save percentage, Pekka Rinne (41-17-4) has been the best option in goal for Nashville this season. If it chooses to rest him, however, Nashville might turn to Juuse Saros (10-14-7 record, .926 save percentage, 2.41 goals against average).
Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson will both spearhead the attack for the visiting Predators. Forsberg has 61 points via 23 goals and 38 assists, and has recorded two or more points 17 times. Arvidsson has 29 goals and 31 assists to his nameand has logged at least one point in 42 games.
On the other side of the ice, Washington is 48-32 straight up (SU) and has earned 11.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. 44 of its contests have gone over the total, while 34 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 27-12 SU at home this year.
The Capitals have converted on 22.4 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 15th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.8 percent of all penalties.
Washington players have been whistled for penalties 4.1 times per game in total this season, 4.2 per game over their last five games total, and 4.0 per game over their last five at home. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays 8.8 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Braden Holtby has stopped 27.8 shots per game as the primary choice in goal for the Capitals. Holtby has 33 wins, 20 losses, and four overtime losses and has registered a pedestrian 2.99 goals against average and a subpar .908 save percentage this year.
The home team will be led on offense by Alex Ovechkin (46 goals, 38 assists).
Nashville Predators vs. Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
Free NHL Pick: SU Winner – Predators, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Seven of Washington’s last ten contests have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 5-2 overall in those games.
Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be critical tonight. The Predators are 18-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 25-15 in games where they’re in the box for fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Capitals are 15-9 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 27-16 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Two of Nashville’s last ten games have ended in a shootout. The team is 1-1 in those games and 6-7 overall in shootouts this season.
The total has gone under in three of Washington’s last five outings.
Washington is ranked 25th this season with 10.7 giveaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as the team’s averaged 9.1 giveaways over its last 10 games and 8.4 giveaways over its last five.
Nashville has averaged 4.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.7 giveaways per game (ranked 16th in the league).
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