The Washington Capitals (13-5-4) are still on the road for the second half of a two-game set against the Boston Bruins (12-5-3) at TD Garden. Friday’s puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET following Washington’s 2-1 shootout win Wednesday. Below, we analyze the Capitals-Bruins odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Caps have rung up four straight wins to take control in the East Division. Friday’s contest will be the fourth game of a five-game road trip.
The Bruins have lost five of seven games coming into Friday. Three of those losses were by multi-goal margins. These teams split a two-game set earlier in the season but Boston managed to come away with three points.
Capitals at Bruins: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Capitals +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Bruins -150 (bet $150 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Capitals +1.5 (-200) | Bruins -1.5 (+170)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: -115 | U: -105)
Capitals at Bruins: Projected starting goalies
Ilya Samsonov (2-0-1, .878 SV%, 2.92 GAA) vs. Jaroslav Halak (4-2-1, .903 SV%, 2.42 GAA)
Samsonov will make just his second start since a prolonged stay on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols list. He stopped 19 of 21 shots in a win over the New Jersey Devils Sunday. He’ll need to string together some quality starts to regain the No. 1 job in net from rookie Vitek Vanecek.
Halak enters off of back-to-back losses for the first time this season. He allowed a total of 10 goals on 63 shots in games against the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. He stopped 23 of 26 shots in a victory over the Caps Feb. 1.
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Capitals at Bruins: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Capitals 3, Bruins 2
Money line (ML)
The CAPITALS (+125) are an attractive underdog play following Wednesday’s narrow head-to-head victory. They registered 53.25% of the total shot attempts and 57.58% of the scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the victory and took control in the third period.
Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play in the first half of this two-game set. They both have top-10 power-play units for the season, but an edge goes to Washington with a fifth-ranked 28.07% conversion rate with the man advantage.
Boston has the edge on the penalty kill, but it also takes more penalty minutes per game than Washington.
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Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the puck line and stick with the much more rewarding payout for the money line upset.
Washington is 13-9 against the spread compared to Boston’s 5-15 ATS record.
Over/Under (O/U)
Back the UNDER 6 (-105).
Wednesday’s game needed a shootout to get to 3 total goals scored, and it was the second straight Under result for both teams. Expect another prove-it game from Samsonov, and Halak should get back on track following a pair of poor results.
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