The San Jose Sharks (21-19-2) travel to meet the Washington Capitals (23-11-9) Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Sharks vs. Capitals odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
The Sharks are coming off a 7-1 blowout loss Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning and have now dropped four of their last five games. San Jose won the final two games of its four-game road trip with victories in Buffalo Jan. 6 and Philadelphia Jan. 8 last time it traveled east.
The Capitals were on the short end of a 1-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights Monday, their fourth straight game decided by 1 goal. Washington is 2-2 across those outings, splitting the Over-Under in those contests too.
Sharks at Capitals odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:58 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Sharks +170 (bet $100 to win $170) | Capitals -210 (bet $210 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Sharks +1.5 (-155) | Capitals -1.5 (+122)
- Over/Under (O/U): 5.5 (O: -125 | U: +100)
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Sharks at Capitals projected goalies
Adin Hill (9-11-1, 2.78 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Ilya Samsonov (13-4-3, 2.77 GAA, .903 SV%, 3 SO)
Hill came on late in the first period of that blowout loss to the Lightning in place of the ineffective James Reimer. He allowed 3 goals on 18 shots, but the damage was already done.
Samsonov has lost all three of his starts in the month of January, going 0-2-1 with a 4.09 GAA and .869 SV%. He allowed 3 goals on 31 shots last time out against the visiting Vancouver Canucks Jan. 16.
Sharks at Capitals odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Capitals 4, Sharks 1
Money line
The Capitals (-210) will cost you more than two times your potential return, and that’s risky with a team that has been rather erratic lately.
AVOID, and look to the puck line instead.
Against the spread
The CAPITALS -1.5 (+122) are a strong play at home Wednesday. Yes, the last four games have been decided by 1 goal, but the Sharks have had a lot of difficulties scoring goals lately. San Jose has 10 total goals in the past five outings, and six of those came Jan. 17 against Los Angeles.
The Capitals won 4-0 in San Jose Nov. 20 as the Under connected the last time these teams played.
Over/Under
UNDER 5.5 (+100) is a nice play due to the aforementioned offensive struggles of the Sharks. The Under has cashed in six of the last eight games for San Jose while hitting in each of the last two for Washington.
The Under is also 11-5 in the last 16 games on the road for the Sharks, while hitting in five of their last six against Eastern Conference foes.
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