Ottawa Senators vs. Washington Capitals Prediction, NHL Odds
The Washington Capitals aim to end a four-game home losing streak when they host the Ottawa Senators on Sunday afternoon. The Capitals are coming off a 5-2 win in Montreal on Saturday afternoon, but have surrendered 14 total goals over their past three defeats at Capital One Arena. The Senators travel to Washington looking to rebound from back-to-back shutout defeats on home ice, capped by Saturday’s 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins, and have claimed victory in just one of four road contests.
Despite their current home swoon, the Capitals are perched as lofty -248 favourites in Sunday’s contest. With the backing of just 10% of sports bettors, the Senators trail as distant +206 underdogs, while the total is set at 6.0 with the over favoured with -118 odds.
Senators vs. Capitals NHL Betting Odds
Sunday afternoon’s matchup marks the third and final regular-season meeting between these clubs. The Capitals have claimed victory in 10 straight clashes with Ottawa, and in 17 of 19 overall since January 2014. The Caps eked out a narrow 3-2 when these clubs met in Washington on January 22, ending a stretch of five straight wins by multi-goal margins. The Capitals have been particularly dominant while topping the Sens in nine straight home dates. Washington has averaged 3.89 goals per game over that stretch while limiting the Senators to just 13 total goals. Overall, the over has paid out in four of five head-to-head clashes.
The Capitals have managed to string together consecutive wins just once during a middling 6-8-2 run that has put their playoff hopes in jeopardy. While Washington has outgunned opponents by a 14-5 overall margin during their three-game road win streak, the club has scored just 11 total goals in five home outings. Despite those uneven results, the over has paid out in four straight. The Sens’ current power outage comes on the heels of a confidence-building 3-1-0 run that featured wins over Carolina and Edmonton. However, the road has been unkind, with Ottawa scoring just five total goals in their past three away contests.
Ottawa Senators
Things could have gone much worse for the Senators during their two recent shutout losses, were it not for the steady play of Matt Murray. The veteran netminder is expected to start again on Sunday after turning aside 35 of 37 shots faced in Saturday’s loss to Boston. Murray also stopped 42 of the 43 shots he faced in Thursday’s 2-0 loss to Pittsburgh and has racked up a sparkling .962 save percentage while going 3-2-1 over his past six starts.
Washington Capitals
The Capitals hope to get a boost from Alex Ovechkin’s return to the lineup on Saturday afternoon. Ovechkin was recently sidelined by COVID-19, which also prevented him from playing north of the border on Saturday afternoon. Ovie has been a force in recent appearances against the Senators, potting two goals in each of their past four meetings, and turning in multi-point performances in six of 10 head-to-head dates. However, Ovechkin has struggled overall of late, failing to score and tallying just one assist over his past five games.
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