Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets Prediction, NHL Odds
Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals visit the Columbus Blue Jackets this wekend with the Caps listed as -175 favourites on the NHL odds.
Capitals vs. Blue Jackets NHL Betting Odds
For a while there, Alex Ovechkin was favoured to break Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goalscoring record against the Blue Jackets simply as the teams play a home-and-home set starting Saturday in Ohio and then Sunday in Washington, D.C. But Ovechkin of course scored record goal No. 895 last Sunday at the New York Islanders, basically killing the secondary ticket market in Columbus for this game.
But that’s not to say Ovechkin has no individual goals the rest of the season: He looks to become the first player to ever reach 900 goals, and the 39-year-old remains five shy of that. In 49 career games against the Blue Jackets, Ovechkin has 26 goals. He has one in two meetings this season.
On Nov. 2, the Capitals were 7-2 home winners over the Blue Jackets, and Ovechkin scored goal No. 895 while adding two assists. On Dec. 12 in Columbus, the Capitals won 2-1 in overtime with Aliaksei Protas scoring both goals. Ovechkin was out then with a broken leg. That the Russian has reached 40 goals (42) for a record 14th season despite missing 16 games with that injury makes it all the more remarkable.
Otherwise, this game doesn’t mean much with Columbus all but eliminated from playoff contention and Washington locked in as the Metropolitan Division winner and the Eastern Conference’s top seed … but still in the hunt for the Presidents’ Trophy
Washington Capitals
The Capitals clinched the East’s top seed with Thursday’s 5-4 shootout win over Carolina, Washington’s first home game since Alex Ovechkin became the NHL’s all-time goals leader. He had an assist but saw a five-game goals streak end. It was Ovi’s his 332nd career comeback win to pass Jaromir Jagr for the fifth most in NHL history. One-time Maple Leaf Patrick Marleau holds the mark of 352. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal Thursday to become the Capitals’ seventh 20-goal scorer this season, which marked the team’s most in a campaign since 2018-19 when it also had seven.
Charlie Lindgren (19-13-3, 2.74 GAA, .896 SV) was in net Thursday and likely starts again Saturday because Logan Thompson is injured. Centre Aliaksei Protas (66 points) has been out since April 4 due to a foot injury and is unlikely for Saturday. Top blueliner Jakob Chychrun was out Thursday with an illness. With the East’s top seed wrapped up, the Caps may opt to rest guys the rest of the way rather than also chase the Presidents’ Trophy. Washington is 1-4 in its past five on the road.
Columbus Blue Jackets
As of this writing, the Blue Jackets are mathematically alive for the final Wild-Card spot in the Eastern Conference, but they might be eliminated by the time they take the ice. Still, it has been a really solid season overall considering the death of star Johnny Gaudreau this summer. Columbus has done most of its damage at home as it is 24-10-5 at Nationwide Arena after a 3-2 comeback win over Buffalo to temporarily avoid playoff elimination. No. 1 netminder Elvis Merzlikins was scratched with an undisclosed injury. Jet Greaves was an emergency call-up from the AHL on Thursday and ended up starting against the Sabres. No word yet on whether Merzlikins will play Saturday; if the team is eliminated, probably he will not.
Blueliner Jake Christiansen (eight points) left Thursday injured. Fellow defenceman Zach Werenski, one of the league’s best, had an assist for his 76th point (20G, 56A), tying Ray Whitney (2002-03) for the fourth-most by a Blue Jackets player in a single season. Columbus has lost six straight home games vs. Washington, but this feels like one where the Caps won’t much care.
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