With the series tied at two games apiece, the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning battle at Amalie Arena in Game 5 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. The matchup will get underway at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 19, and you’ll be able to catch the game live on NBC.
Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Washington (+150) is currently the underdog to Tampa Bay (-170) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -110 for the over and -110 on the under.
Tampa Bay is 64-32 straight up (SU) and has earned 12.1 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from the 2016-17 season campaign. Among its 96 games this season, 55 have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just six have pushed. This season, the team is 34-15 SU at home.
The Lightning’ offensive attack attempted 32.3 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.6 goals per outing (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, however, the club’s dropped to an average of 30.1 shots on goal 3.4 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they converted 25.1 percent of all power-play opportunities (the third-strongest), the Lightning have connected on 30.8 percent of their power plays in the postseason. Their penalty kill has gone from 76.0 percent in the regular season to 75.6 percent in the playoffs.
Averaging 29.3 saves per game with a .919 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (54-25-3) has been the primary option in goal for the Bolts this season. If the Bolts decide to give him a breather, however, Tampa Bay may turn to Louis Domingue (7-13-13 record, .896 save percentage, 3.35 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will both lead the charge for the Lightning. Kucherov (116 points) is up to 46 goals and 70 assists and has recorded two or more points in 35 different games this year. Stamkos has 34 goals and 68 assists to his name and has notched a point in 63 contests.
Washington is 59-39 straight up (SU) and has earned 15.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. A total of 53 of its matches have gone over the total, while 40 have gone under and just five have pushed. As a road team, the Capitals are 28-21 SU.
The Capitals have scored on 23.7 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, 3.8 per game over their past five games total, and 4.4 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (27.1 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Washington. Holtby has 44 wins, 25 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit, and has registered a .909 save percentage and 2.82 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Capitals will be Alex Ovechkin (59 goals, 48 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (37 goals, 67 assists).
Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Trends
Over Tampa Bay’s last ten outings, nine of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 6-3 in those games).
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