The Washington Capitals (4-0-3) and New York Islanders (3-3-0) play the second game of their two-game set at Capital One Arena Thursday. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Islanders-Capitals NHL odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
Islanders at Capitals: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Islanders -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Capitals +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Islanders -1.5 (+230) | Capitals +1.5 (-275)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: +120 | U: -140)
Islanders at Capitals: Projected starting goalies
Semyon Varlamov (3-1-0, .966 SV%, 1.00 GAA) vs. Vitek Vanecek (3-0-2, .918 SV%, 2.70 GAA)
Varlamov is holding off rookie Ilya Sorokin, who had been considered a favorite for the Calder Trophy. The veteran started the season with back-to-back shutouts but allowed 3 goals on 37 shots in a loss to the Caps Tuesday. He was 1-2-0 in three games against Washington last year.
Vanecek will continue to carry the load with starter Ilya Samsonov sidelined by the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. The rookie from the Czech Republic stopped 32 of the 34 shots he faced in Tuesday’s win.
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Islanders at Capitals: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Islanders 3, Capitals 2
Money line (ML)
Let’s flip the script on Tuesday’s 3-2 Capitals victory. Both teams should continue to emphasize defensive play and there’s no reason to expect anything than what we’ve seen thus far from these two goaltenders.
Take the ISLANDERS (-115) as moderate road favorites against a now-desperately shorthanded Caps side. C Nicklas Backstrom (undisclosed) and C Lars Eller (undisclosed) were unable to finish Tuesday’s game. They could join RW Tom Wilson (lower body) on the sideline. LW Alex Ovechkin, C Evgeny Kuznetsov and D Dmitry Orlov also remain in the COVID protocols with Samsonov.
Against the spread (ATS)
Washington controlled puck possession Tuesday with a Corsi For percentage of 58.04% at 5-on-5 and New York is 30th for the season with a CF% of just 44.47.
Varlamov continues to shoulder the burden and compensate for his team’s possession struggles. He gets the edge in net, but Vanecek has proven to be a fully capable NHL netminder and is keeping third-string veteran Craig Anderson on the bench.
PASS on CAPITALS +1.5 (-275). I was OK paying up on the Caps at (-250) for 1 goal of insurance in the event of a loss but not at this price.
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 5.5 (-140) is certainly the safer side, largely due to the Capitals’ injury and COVID troubles. Additionally, the Islanders are 0-6 against the O/U thus far, and their games average a league-low 3.67 total goals.
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