Calgary Flames vs. Washington Capitals Prediction, NHL Odds
The Capitals saw their struggles that plagued them down the stretch of last season continue to plague them in Friday’s season-opening 4-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Overall, the Capitals have now lost 12 of 14 since mid-March, and have allowed at least four goals in 13 of their past 16 overall contests. The Flames opened their current five-game road trip with Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Pittsburgh, and have now fallen to defeat in 10 of their past 11 road dates with Eastern Conference opponents.
The Flames arrive in Washington perched as -125 moneyline favourites on the Monday NHL odds, and sports attractive +180 odds of covering 1.5-goal chalk on the puck line. The Capitals lag as +105 underdogs, and sport -225 puck line odds of avoiding a defeat by a multi-goal margin. The total is pegged at 6.5, with the UNDER sporting -115 odds.
Flames vs. Capitals NHL Betting Odds
Monday night’s matchup at Capital One Arena marks the first two scheduled regular season meetings between these clubs. These teams split a pair of dates last season, with the home team emerging victorious in each. However, the Capitals hold the historical edge, earning the win in six of their past eight clashes with the Flames including three of their past four meetings on home ice. The OVER has paid out in six of their past eight head-to-head dates. However, low scoring has been commonplace in recent meetings in Washington, with the UNDER going 2-1 in their past three, capped by the Capitals’ 3-0 victory last November.
Calgary Flames
After getting the bounces in a 5-3 season-opening win over Winnipeg in which they mustered just 22 shots on goal, the Flames were snake bitten in their first road game of the season, falling 5-2 in Pittsburgh on Saturday despite outshooting the Penguins by a 36-28 margin. But neither Elias Lindholm nor Andrew Mangiapane have struggled to produce in the early going, with each of them enjoying three-point nights in last week’s win over the Jets, and contributing assists in Saturday’s loss. Jonathan Huberdeau also came to loss in Saturday’s date with the Pens, scoring his first goal of the season while tallying a game-high five shots on goal. However, the club’s third-period collapse in Saturday’s loss is cause for concern. The Flames enjoyed a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes, but saw the Pens erase that deficit with three goals in under six minutes and five goals in the period. Despite allowing seven goals and compiling a dismal .892 save percentage through two outings, Jacob Markstrom is still projected to get the start on Monday.
Washington Capitals
Capitals fans waiting for this team to shake off their dismal performance in the final weeks of last season were forced to wait at least one more game after the Capitals came out flat in their season-opening shutout loss to Pittsburgh. Washington managed to keep things close in the early going, but had no answer for the Penguins’ three-goal outburst in just under eight minutes in the second period, and ended the night with just 19 shots on goal. Indeed, it was a particularly tough night for veterans Nicklas Backstrom, Anthony Mantha, Evgeny Kuznetsov and TJ Oshie, who generated a combined four shots on goal. And while Alex Ovechkin produced four shots, he has now failed to score in six straight games since late March, and has scored just times in the Flames’ past seven visits to Washington. Charlie Lindgren got the call in between the posts in Friday’s loss, and allowed all four goals on 35 shots. Lindgren is expected to give way to Darcy Kuemper on Monday night. Kuemper has work to do to overcome a shaky run down the stretch last season, in which he allowed five goals in three of his final four starts.