Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins Prediction, NHL Odds
There’s not much rest for the Capitals as they’re headed to Boston to face the Bruins, a day after a 6-3 win in Philadelphia. The Bruins have won three straight games with their last loss coming in an 8-1 blowout from none other than Washington last week.
Washington is favoured to win on the NHL odds.
Capitals vs. Bruins Betting Analysis
This will be the seventh of eight meetings between these teams this season. The season series is split down the middle at three wins apiece for each team. Washington has a slight edge in goals, outscoring Boston 20-19 over the six games.
The Caps have dominated Boston over the last few years, winning 15 of the last 20 meetings between these teams. Washington is 23-22 against the spread this year, but they’ve only covered in four of their last 10 games. They’ve hit the Over in six straight games.
Clinging to the final playoff spot in the East Division, Boston comes into this game with five wins in their last seven games. The Bruins have struggled to cover this year, going 14-28 ATS. They’ve hit the Over in four of their last six games against Washington.
Washington Capitals
This will be the second straight Sunday Alex Ovechkin and company find themselves in Beantown. Washington is hoping for a repeat performance of their 8-1 win over the Bruins last week. In the Caps’ fifth straight victory over Philadelphia on Saturday, Ovechkin buried two power play goals in a 6-3 win, while John Carlson added a career-high four assists. Ovechkin is third in league goal scoring with 24 goals and is closing in on his 16th straight 30-goal season. Carlson leads all NHL defencemen with 42 points (10G, 32A) in 45 games.
Washington’s power play has been key over last couple weeks. The Caps have scored multiple power play goals in four of their last six games and have converted on 40 per cent of opportunities on the man advantage over that time. With Ilya Samsonov picking up his 11th win of the season on Saturday, Washington will likely turn to Vitek Vanecek on Sunday. Vanecek has been the busier goalie this season. He has a 17-8-3 record with a 2.69 goals-against average and .911 save percentage.
Boston Bruins
Sunday marks the last of a five-game homestand for Boston. The Bruins are icing a very different roster from the one that was blown out by Washington last week. Tuukka Rask is set to make his second start since returning from an upper-body injury in a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Thursday. Boston will also have trade acquisitions Taylor Hall, Curtis Lazar and Mike Reilly in the lineup. In the three games these players have played for the Bruins, Hall has two goals, Reilly has shored up the defence and played over 22 minutes per game and Lazar has provided veteran stability as a fourth line centre.
Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have been big pieces of this team all season. Marchand has a team-high 50 points (21G, 29A) in 40 games and is one point shy of 700 for his career. Pastrnak is playing at a point-per-game pace with 35 points (17G, 18A) in 35 games and is three goals short of 200 for his career.