The Washington Capitals vs. Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals. NBC Sports Network will broadcast the action, which gets going at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 13.
Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay (-205) is currently favored over Washington (+175) and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 money on the over and -110 on the under.
Tampa Bay is 62-31 straight up (SU) and has netted 11.9 units for moneyline bettors this season. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league so far in this young season, is a solid improvement compared to how the team performed during the 2016-17 season (42-40). Through 93 regular season matches, 54 of its games have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just four have pushed. The team’s 34-14 SU at home this year.
The Lightning’ offense attempted 32.5 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.6 goals per outing (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, the club’s maintaining an average of 31.2 shots on goal 3.4 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they found the net on 24.4 percent of all power-play opportunities (the third-strongest), the Lightning have connected on 26.8 percent of their power plays in the postseason. Their penalty kill has gone from 75.5 percent in the regular season to 71.4 percent in the playoffs.
Averaging 29.1 saves per game with a .920 save percentage, Andrei Vasilevskiy (52-24-3) has been the best goalkeeper for Tampa Bay this year. If head coach Jon Cooper chooses to give him the night off, however, Tampa Bay might roll with Louis Domingue (7-13-13 record, .896 save percentage, 3.35 goals against average).
Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos will each lead the charge for the Lightning. Kucherov (113 points) has tallied 45 goals and 68 assists and has recorded two or more points on 34 different occasions this year. Stamkos has 31 goals and 66 assists to his name and has notched a point in 60 games.
Washington is 58-37 straight up (SU) and has netted 16.3 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 95 regular season contests, 52 of its games have gone over the total, while 40 have gone under and just three have pushed. As a road team, the Capitals are 27-21 SU.
The Capitals have converted on 24.1 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a mark that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully defended 80.0 percent of all penalties.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game this season, 4.0 per game over their past five match ups total, and 4.0 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 8.3 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (27.3 saves per game) has been the primary choice in the net for Washington. Holtby has 43 wins, 23 losses, and five OT losses to his credit, while registering a .910 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average this year.
Leading the offensive counter for the visiting Capitals will be Alex Ovechkin (58 goals, 46 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (34 goals, 65 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).
Penalties and power plays could prove to be key tonight. The Capitals are 17-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 32-19 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total. The Lightning are 29-16 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 34-20 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
Tampa Bay is 6-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
Tampa Bay skaters have averaged 7.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 8.4 giveaways per game (the 9th-fewest in the NHL).
Washington is ranked 25th this season with 10.6 giveaways per game. That figure’s trended lower, however, as it’s averaged 9.2 giveaways over its last 10 games and 6.4 giveaways over its last five.
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