We’re getting an early preview of the playoffs on Tuesday night as the Bruins and Capitals will meet in Washington for the final game of the regular season for each club.  The game itself has no bearing on the standings, as the B’s and the Caps are already locked into a playoff series against each other that will start Saturday in Washington.

This game is nearly a pick’em on the NHL odds as the Capitals are slightly favoured to win at -114 on the moneyline.  The total is set at 5.5.

Bruins vs. Capitals Betting Analysis

Boston has the edge in this season series with four wins in the first seven games, although it’s worth noting that less a month ago Washington crushed the Bruins 8-1 in Boston.  The Over has hit in five games between these teams this year.

After a slow start to the season, the Bruins are finishing the year hot and have gone 12-4 straight up in their last 16 games.  They’re 22-33 against the spread overall and have gone an even 5-5 ATS in their last 10.  The total has gone Under in 10 of Boston’s last 15 road games.

Washington has been strong all season.  They’re 10-5 SU in their last 15 games and they’ve also won 10 of their last 13 home games against Boston.  For the season, they’re 28-27 ATS, but they’ve only covered in one of their last five home games.  The total has gone Under in four of the Caps’ last five home games.

Boston Bruins

Taylor Hall has been a huge pickup for Boston.  Since being acquired from Buffalo at the trade deadline, Hall has eight goals and 14 points in 16 games.  The former league MVP picked up another two goals, including the OT winner, in Boston’s 3-2 win over the New York Islanders on Monday.  Hall had just two goals and 19 points in 37 games for the Sabres this year.

The Bruins’ goaltending is also going to be key for Tuesday’s game and into the playoffs.  After only playing one game between March 7 and April 15 because of an upper-body injury, Tuuka Rask looks like he’s back to full health.  Rask made 16 saves in the win on Monday and has now won six of his eight starts since returning from injury.  Jeremy Swayman, however, will get the start on Tuesday.  The rookie won his only start against Washington this season and he’s gone 7-2-0 overall with a 1.44 goals-against average and .946 save percentage.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals bounced back from a loss to Philadelphia on Friday by taking the Flyers down 2-1 in OT on Saturday to split the two-game set.  Conor Sheary‘s 14th goal of the year was the OT winner.  The issue surrounding this team right now is injuries.  The team leader in points, Nicklas Backstrom, the team leader in goals, Alex Ovechkin and the Caps’ No. 1 defenceman, John Carlson, all missed Saturday’s game with lower-body injuries.  To make matters worse, T.J. Oshie was forced to leave early on Saturday with an injury as well.  Keep a close eye on the injury list as we get to closer to puck drop as Backstrom, Ovechkin, Carlson and Oshie’s statuses are all up in the air.

Combine Washington’s injury issues with the fact that Evgeny Kuznetsov and starting goalie Ilya Samsonov are in the league’s COVID protocols with no timetable to return, and this could be a tough game for the Caps.  Rookie Vitek Vanecek should get the start in net on Tuesday.  Vanecek is 20-10-4 this year with a 2.74 GAA and .907 SV.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Bruins vs. Capitals?

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Bruins Team Leaders

BOS

Points	Brad Marchand 69
+ / -	Patrice Bergeron 27
Shots	Patrice Bergeron 182
Penalty Mins	Trent Frederic 65
Wins	Tuukka Rask 15
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 1.5

WAS

Points	Nicklas Backstrom 53
+ / -	Dmitry Orlov 16
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 182
Penalty Mins	Tom Wilson 96
Wins	Vitek Vanecek 21
GAA	Craig Anderson 2.13

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 15
+ / -	Mike Reilly 3
Shots	David Pastrnak 52
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 12
Wins	Tuukka Rask 6
GAA	Tuukka Rask 2.36

WAS

Points	Alex Ovechkin 4
+ / -	Garnet Hathaway 2
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 20
Penalty Mins	Anthony Mantha 6
Wins	Craig Anderson 1
GAA	Craig Anderson 2.67

• Regular Season
• Playoffs

Capitals Team Leaders

BOS

Points	Brad Marchand 69
+ / -	Patrice Bergeron 27
Shots	Patrice Bergeron 182
Penalty Mins	Trent Frederic 65
Wins	Tuukka Rask 15
GAA	Jeremy Swayman 1.5

WAS

Points	Nicklas Backstrom 53
+ / -	Dmitry Orlov 16
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 182
Penalty Mins	Tom Wilson 96
Wins	Vitek Vanecek 21
GAA	Craig Anderson 2.13

BOS

Points	David Pastrnak 15
+ / -	Mike Reilly 3
Shots	David Pastrnak 52
Penalty Mins	Brad Marchand 12
Wins	Tuukka Rask 6
GAA	Tuukka Rask 2.36

WAS

Points	Alex Ovechkin 4
+ / -	Garnet Hathaway 2
Shots	Alex Ovechkin 20
Penalty Mins	Anthony Mantha 6
Wins	Craig Anderson 1
GAA	Craig Anderson 2.67

Injuries

Boston

Tuukka Rask (G)

Ques Wed Undisclosed - 08 / 06 / 21

Curtis Lazar (C)

Out Wed Lower Body - 07 / 06 / 21

Brad Marchand (LW)

Prob Sat Undisclosed - 05 / 06 / 21

Brandon Carlo (D)

Out Wed Upper Body - 04 / 06 / 21

Tuukka Rask (G)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 02 / 06 / 21

Craig Smith (RW)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 30 / 05 / 21

Steven Kampfer (D)

out for season Hand - 23 / 05 / 21

Kevan Miller (D)

Out indefinitely Head - 21 / 05 / 21

Jeremy Lauzon (D)

Prob Sat Hand - 16 / 05 / 21

Matt Grzelcyk (D)

Out Tues Rest - 11 / 05 / 21

Washington

T.J. Oshie (RW)

Ques Fri Lower Body - 21 / 05 / 21

T.J. Oshie (RW)

Ques Wed Lower Body - 19 / 05 / 21

Lars Eller (C)

Ques Fri Lower Body - 18 / 05 / 21

Ilya Samsonov (G)

Ques Wed Undisclosed - 17 / 05 / 21

Vitek Vanecek (G)

Ques Sun Lower Body - 15 / 05 / 21

Michal Kempny (D)

Ques Sun Achilles - 13 / 05 / 21

John Carlson (D)

Prob Sat Lower Body - 11 / 05 / 21

T.J. Oshie (RW)

Ques Sat Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21

Tom Wilson (RW)

Ques Tues Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21

Ilya Samsonov (G)

Out indefinitely Disciplinary - 05 / 05 / 21

Injuries

Boston

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Tuukka Rask (G)	Ques Wed	Undisclosed - 08 / 06 / 21	0-1	1-0	+ -
Rask is managing an undefined injury, and it is undetermined if he will take on the Islanders in Game 6 of the East Division finals.
Curtis Lazar (C)	Out Wed	Lower Body - 07 / 06 / 21	0-2	1-0-1	+ -
Lazar is hampered by a lower-body injury, and he will not lace up for Game 6 of the East Division finals versus the Islanders.
Brad Marchand (LW)	Prob Sat	Undisclosed - 05 / 06 / 21	0-3	1-1-1	+ -
Marchand is expected to take on the Islanders for Game 4 of the East Division finals despite an unspecified injury.
Brandon Carlo (D)	Out Wed	Upper Body - 04 / 06 / 21	0-3	1-1-1	+ -
Carlo is dealing with an upper-body injury, and he will not suit up against the Islanders for Game 6 of the East Division finals.
Tuukka Rask (G)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 02 / 06 / 21	0-4	2-1-1	+ -
Rask is expected to tend the twine against the Islanders in Game 3 of the East Division final despite multiple nagging injuries.
Craig Smith (RW)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 30 / 05 / 21	1-4	3-1-1	+ -
Smith is battling an lower-body injury, and it is unclear if he will face the Islanders in Game 3 of the East Division finals.
Steven Kampfer (D)	out for season	Hand - 23 / 05 / 21	3-4	3-3-1	+ -
Kampfer is recovering from hand surgery, and he will not be available for the remainder of the season.
Kevan Miller (D)	Out indefinitely	Head - 21 / 05 / 21	3-5	3-4-1	+ -
Miller is out of commission due to a head injury, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.
Jeremy Lauzon (D)	Prob Sat	Hand - 16 / 05 / 21	3-7	4-4-2	+ -
Lauzon is bothered by a hand injury, but it is anticipated that he will be available against the Islanders for Game 1 of the East Division finals.
Matt Grzelcyk (D)	Out Tues	Rest - 11 / 05 / 21	4-8	4-5-3	+ -
Grzelcyk will not be in the lineup for Tuesday against the Capitals, as he will be given a day of rest.

Washington

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
T.J. Oshie (RW)	Ques Fri	Lower Body - 21 / 05 / 21	1-1	0-2	+ -
Oshie is bothered by a lower-body injury, and it remains to be seen if he will line up for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Division semifinals versus the Bruins.
T.J. Oshie (RW)	Ques Wed	Lower Body - 19 / 05 / 21	2-1	1-2	+ -
Oshie is bothered by a lower-body injury, and it is unclear if he will be available versus the Bruins for Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round.
Lars Eller (C)	Ques Fri	Lower Body - 18 / 05 / 21	2-1	1-2	+ -
Eller is dealing with a lower-body injury, leaving his status for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Division semifinals against the Bruins up in the air.
Ilya Samsonov (G)	Ques Wed	Undisclosed - 17 / 05 / 21	3-1	1-2-1	+ -
Samsonov is tending to an undisclosed injury, and it is unclear if he will take the ice for Game 3 of the East Division semifinals against the Bruins.
Vitek Vanecek (G)	Ques Sun	Lower Body - 15 / 05 / 21	3-2	1-3-1	+ -
Vanecek is hindered by a lower-body injury, and it is unknown if he will be available against the Bruins for Game 5 of the East Division semifinals.
Michal Kempny (D)	Ques Sun	Achilles - 13 / 05 / 21	3-2	1-3-1	+ -
Kempny is battling an Achilles injury, and it is undetermined if he will participate in Game 5 of the East Division semifinals versus the Bruins.
John Carlson (D)	Prob Sat	Lower Body - 11 / 05 / 21	3-3	1-4-1	+ -
Carlson is tending to a lower-body injury, but it is projected that he will be in the lineup for Game 1 of the East Division semifinals against the Bruins.
T.J. Oshie (RW)	Ques Sat	Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21	3-4	1-5-1	+ -
Oshie is bothered by a lower-body injury, and it is up in the air if he will lace up against the Bruins for Game 1 of the East Division semifinals.
Tom Wilson (RW)	Ques Tues	Lower Body - 08 / 05 / 21	3-4	1-5-1	+ -
Wilson exited the previous contest with a lower-body injury, and it is unclear if he will be available for Tuesday's clash with the Bruins.
Ilya Samsonov (G)	Out indefinitely	Disciplinary - 05 / 05 / 21	5-4	2-5-2	+ -
Samsonov has been designated for the COVID-19 protocol list, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.