With the series tied 8-8, the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning collide in a winner-take-all Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The match will get started at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 23, and it can be viewed live on NBC Sports Network.
Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning Odds
Tampa Bay enters the game as the noticeable favorite with a -155 moneyline. The line for Washington sits at +135 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Tampa Bay is 65-33 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 12.1 units this year. That winning percentage, ranked first in the league in this young season, is an improvement over the 42-40 record from last year’s regular season campaign. Among the team’s 98 games this season, 55 have gone over the total, while 37 have gone under and just six have pushed. The team is 35-15 SU at home this year.
Following a regular season where they scored on 24.8 percent of all power-play opportunities (the third-best), the Lightning have connected on 29.1 percent of their extra-man advantages in the postseason. Their penalty kill has gone from 75.7 percent in the regular season to 73.9 percent in the playoffs.
The Lightning’ offensive attack attempted 32.1 shots per game in the regular season, leading to 3.5 goals per outing (ranked first overall in the NHL). In the playoffs, however, the club’s dropped to an average of 29.2 shots on goal ( 3.1 goals per game).
Sporting a .920 save percentage and 29.3 saves per game, Andrei Vasilevskiy (55 wins, 26 losses, and three OT losses) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Bolts this year. If the Bolts choose to rest him, however, Tampa Bay may roll with Louis Domingue (7-13-13 record, .896 save percentage, 3.35 goals against average).
The Bolts will continue looking for offensive production from Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. Kucherov (117 points) is up to 46 goals and 71 assists and has recorded two or more points 35 times this year. Stamkos has 34 goals and 68 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 64 games.
On the other side of the ice, Washington is 60-40 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 15.4 units this year. Through 100 regular season matches, 53 of its games have gone over the total, while 42 have gone under and just five have pushed. The Capitals are 28-22 SU as the away team this season.
The Capitals have scored on 23.9 percent of their power play chances 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 79.3 percent of all opponent power plays.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 3.4 per game over their last five on the road. The team’s had to stave off opponent power plays just 8.4 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (2.78 goals against average and .910 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Washington. Holtby is averaging 26.9 saves per game and owns a 45-26-5 record.
Leading the offensive attack for the visiting Capitals will be Alex Ovechkin (60 goals, 48 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (38 goals, 68 assists).
Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Lightning, O/U – Under
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Notes
Betting Notes
Over Tampa Bay’s last ten outings, eight of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 5-3 in those games).
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