The Washington Capitals (2-0-1) and New Jersey Devils (2-0-0) meet Thursday for a 7 p.m. ET contest at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. Below, we look at the Capitals vs. Devils odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
Washington is fresh off an impressive 6-3 win Tuesday over the Colorado Avalanche. The Caps played the Tampa Bay Lightning the game prior, so this contest figures as a drop in class. Washington went 8-0-0 against the Devils last season.
The Devils are playing the third of five straight home games after defeating the Chicago Blackhawks and the Seattle Kraken in their first two games. New Jersey outshot both the Blackhawks and Kraken and earned the victories despite being outscored a combined 3-0 on the power play.
Capitals at Devils odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:57 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Capitals -140 (bet $140 to win $100) | Devils +115 (bet $100 to win $115)
- Against the spread (ATS): Capitals -1.5 (+175) | Devils +1.5 (-240)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +110 | U: -135)
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Capitals at Devils projected goalies
Vitek Vanecek (last season: 21-10-4, 2.69 GAA, .908 SV%) vs. Scott Wedgewood (last season: 3-8-3 3.11 GAA, .900 SV%)
Vanecek owns a 1.44 GAA and .938 SV% through two games this season. He logged a 2.44 GAA and .902 SV% against the Devils last season.
Wedgewood stands in for the injured Jonathan Bernier and is appearing in his first game of the season. The Caps beat him up twice last season (.852 SV%, 9 GA).
Capitals at Devils odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Capitals 4, Devils 2
Money line
The Caps are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games at the Prudential Center, and they’ve been very good at both ends of the ice through the early going. So have the Devils but against foes that are a combined 1-6-2 so far.
Add in some New Jersey injuries: chief among those is F Jack Hughes (dislocated shoulder). Hughes has figured in three of the team’s eight goals this season.
BACK THE CAPITALS (-140).
The Caps getting a combined 73 shots against Tampa Bay and Colorado makes for enough confidence in at least a partial-unit play on the puck line.
BACK WASHINGTON -1.5 (+175).
Over/Under
PASS. The lean is on the Under, but avoid the play unless the price comes down.
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