Tag: Alex Ovechkin

Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Thursday’s Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and tips.

The Montreal Canadiens (27-27-8) visit the Washington Capitals (37-17-5) Thursday at Capital One Arena for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Canadiens-Capitals odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.

The Canadiens enter on a five-game skid, recently losing at the Detroit Red Wings 4-3 Tuesday. The Capitals own a two-game losing streak and have dropped four of their last five – recently suffering a 3-2 setback at the Vegas Golden Knights Monday.

Canadiens at Capitals: Projected starting goalies

Carey Price vs. Braden Holtby

Price is 24-22-5 with a 2.76 goals against average (GAA), a .910 save percentage and three shutouts. The 2015 Vezina Trophy winner’s recent struggles have been in direct correlation with the Habs’ skid. He’s allowed 17 goals – at least 3 per game – in the current five-game losing streak. He’s 1-1 vs. the Capitals this season, winning at Washington 5-2 Nov. 15, and losing 4-2 (allowing 3 goals) in Montreal Jan. 27.

Holtby – the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner – is 21-13-4 with a 3.11 GAA, an .897 SV% and no shutouts. He was pulled in his last start after yielding 7 goals on 25 shots in a 7-2 loss vs. the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday. He did win the start before that, beating the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 Feb. 13. He did not play in the first game vs. the Canadiens, but he was the winning goalie Jan. 27 when he stopped 31 of 33 shots.

Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.

Canadiens at Capitals: Key injuries

Canadiens

  • D Victor Mete (foot) questionable
  • RW Brendan Gallagher (lower body) questionable

Capitals

  • C Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body) questionable

Canadiens at Capitals: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 2:10 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Capitals 5, Canadiens 2

Moneyline (ML)

AVOID. The Capitals (-209) are just too expensive. Every $2.09 wagered on the Caps ML only profits $1 if they win. The Canadiens (+170) offer value – a 1.7-to-1 payoff – but I can’t back a team on a 5-game slide. I’ll PASS.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (PL/ATS)

WASHINGTON (-1.5, +135) is the STRONGEST PLAY. Look for LF Alex Ovechkin to snap a 5-game scoreless streak in his quest for 700 career goals – he has 698 – in front of a raucous home crowd as the Caps return from a three-game road trip. The Canadiens (+1.5, -162) will be skating into an ambush here.

Over/Under (O/U)

A slight lean to the OVER 5.5 (-154). The Over is 4-1-1 in the last six head-to-head matchups, while the Capitals are 6-0-1 Over in their last seven vs. Eastern Conference teams.

Every $1.54 bet on the Over profits $1 if there are 6 or more goals scored.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Johnny’s 2019-20 NHL strongest plays: 10-5.

Strongest plays (all sports) since Dec. 1: 24-10.

Follow @JohnnyParlay11 and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Monday’s Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and tips.

The Washington Capitals (33-11-5) visit the Montreal Canadiens (22-21-7) Monday at the Bell Centre for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Capitals-Canadiens odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.

The Capitals, who lead the Metropolitan Division by 4 points, open the second half of the season on a three-game winning streak. The Canadiens own a two-game win streak and have won four of their last five.

Capitals at Canadiens: Projected starting goalies

Braden Holtby vs. Carey Price

Holtby is 18-9-4 with a 3.09 goals against average (GAA) and a .897 save percentage. The 2016 Vezina Trophy winner allowed four goals on 22 shots in his last start before being removed for Ilya Samsonov after the second period at the New York Islanders Jan. 18 – Washington scored five third-period goals to rally for a 6-4 win.

Price – the 2015 Vezina Trophy winner – is 20-16-4 with a 2.84 GAA and a .908 SV%. He won his last four starts and features a 2.11 GAA in January. He stopped 26 of 28 shots in a 5-2 home win vs. the Capitals Nov. 15, the one time these two clubs met this season.

Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.

Capitals at Canadiens: Key injuries, suspensions

Capitals

  • LW Alex Ovechkin (one-game suspension for skipping All-Star game) out

Canadiens

  • C Paul Byron (knee) out
  • C Jonathan Drouin (wrist) out
  • RW Brendan Gallagher (head) out

Capitals at Canadiens: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 7:15 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Canadiens 5, Capitals 3

Moneyline (ML)

Back the CANADIENS (+115) despite a 10-12-4 home record and the Capitals’ 18-6-1 road mark. Washington is (-139), but Holtby has struggled in January, going 1-2 with a 3.82 GAA and an .857 SV% in four starts.

Every $1 wagered on the Canadiens ML will profit $1.15 if they prevail.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (PL/ATS)

AVOID. Montreal (+1.5, -239) is too expensive – the Habs are 25-25 vs. the PL overall and 9-17 vs. the PL at home. Washington (-1.5, +190) offers a 1.9-to-1 payoff, but since I’m going with the home team ML play, I’ll PASS.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 5.5 (-154) is bit more costly than usual, but it’s the STRONGEST PLAY. I won’t be surprised if the O/U closes at 6. Washington is 7-3 O/U in its last 10 and 31-18 O/U overall. Montreal is usually an Under team, going 2-8 O/U in its last 10, but I’m counting on the Habs to find the back of the net several times vs. Holtby.

Every $1.54 bet on the Over profits $1 if there are 6 or more goals scored.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Johnny’s record since Dec. 1: 36-24-2. Strongest plays: 20-9.

January’s NHL record: 5-2. Strongest plays: 3-1.

Follow @JohnnyParlay11 and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Wayne Gretzky: Alex Ovechkin has a ‘real legitimate chance’ to break his NHL goals record

Alex Ovechkin has a long way to go, but Wayne Gretzky’s record seems possible.

Alex Ovechkin still has a long way to go, but he’s steadily making progress, moving up the NHL’s all-time career goals list as he chases Wayne Gretzky’s record.

With eight goals in the last three games going into the All-Star Weekend, the Washington Capitals winger now has 34 goals this season, putting him in a two-way tie for second in the league with Toronto’s Auston Matthews.

But Ovechkin’s back-to-back hat tricks last week in his team’s wins over the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders also helped him climb into the top-10 on the all-time goals list. And with 692 career goals, he’s now tied for night all time with Steve Yzerman after passing by Mario Lemieux.

Still, Gretzky has 894 career goals. But at 34, Ovechkin is not showing any signs of slowing down as he’s easily on pace for his second straight season with at least 50 goals and ninth overall.

Scoring 202 more goals in his career seems plausible, and Gretzky told NHL.com Ovechkin catching his record “would be wonderful for the game”.

“I’m a big believer that records are made to be broken,” Gretzky told NHL.com on Friday. “What I accomplished, I’m very proud of. It’s hard to do what I did, and it’s really hard to do what he’s doing now. But there’s no question in my mind that he has a real legitimate chance of doing it. The two things that you need; you’ve got to stay healthy, and he’s proven that over his career. He plays hard and he stays healthy. And, secondly, you’ve got to be on a good team — and he plays on a good team.

“For my success, I had to play with good players. He plays with good players, and that obviously helps.”

Aside from a December slump when he only scored four times that month, Ovechkin has been on fire this season. He opened the season with an 11-goal October, scored nine times in November and already has 10 through January and he hasn’t played in a week.

He’s also suspended for one game for skipping the All-Star Weekend in St. Louis, despite being voted the Metropolitan Division captain. It’s the second straight year he’s skipped the festivities in favor of more rest.

But at the rate Ovechkin has been scoring this season, he’ll likely break his tie with Yzerman shortly and catch Mark Messier in No. 8 with 694 goals.

If he does that, the 700 club is right around the corner with Mike Gartner (708), Phil Esposito (717), Marcel Dionne (731), Brett Hull (741), Jaromir Jagr (766), Gordie Howe (801) and Gretzky ahead of him on the all-time goals list.

More from NHL.com:

“From the day he came into the game, into the National Hockey League, we knew what he was,” Gretzky said. “He was just a hard-working guy who loved to score goals. Everybody loves to score goals. The two, three guys that I always remembered seemed to love it more than anybody were Brett Hull, Mike Bossy and Luc Robitaille, and Alex has that fire. He gets around the net and he just loves to score.”

Ovechkin and the Capitals are at the top of the Eastern Conference with a one-point advantage over the Boston Bruins. With the team’s captain suspended for Monday’s game against Montreal, he’ll be back on the ice for Wednesday’s home game against Nashville.

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Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Saturday’s Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals sports betting odds and lines, with NHL matchup analysis, picks and tips.

The Tamp Bay Lightning (17-12-4) visit the Washington Capitals (25-6-5) Saturday at Capital One Arena for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. We analyze the Lightning-Capitals odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.

The Lightning lost at home to the Dallas Stars 4-3 in overtime Thursday after blowing a two-goal, early second-period lead.

The Capitals, led by Nicklas Backstrom’s two goals and two assists, won at the New Jersey Devils 6-3 Friday.

Lightning at Capitals: Projected starting goalies

Andrei Vasilevskiy vs. Braden Holtby

Vasilevskiy is 14-9-2 with a 2.88 goals against average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage. The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner is 0-1-1 against the Capitals this season, allowing 8 goals – 4 in each game – on a total of 68 shots. He is 5-2-1 in December and 6-4-1 on the road.

Holtby is 16-4-4 with a 2.82 GAA and a .909 SV%. The 2016 Vezina winner beat the Lightning 4-3 in OT at home Nov. 29, stopping 27 of 30 shots. He is 3-2 in December and 7-1-3 at home.

Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.

Lighting at Capitals: Key injuries

Lightning

  • D Braydon Coburn (lower body) out

Lightning at Capitals: Odds, picks and betting tips

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Capitals 5, Lightning 4

Moneyline (ML)

The CAPITALS -115 are the STRONGEST PLAY as they’re looking to complete a three-game season sweep of the Lightning (-106). The Capitals, who own the best record in the NHL, are 9-2 in their last 11 games and are 9-3-4 at home. The Lightning, 5-13 in their last 18 at the Capitals, are 5-5 in their last 10 overall and 8-5-2 on the road. Washington would be a bigger favorite had it not played Friday night in New Jersey.

New to sports betting? Every $1.15 wagered on a Washington win would profit a $1 if it prevails.

Puck Line/Against the Spread (PL/ATS)

PASS. While the Caps (-1.5, +225) have been dominant, they’re only 20-16 against the PL and an awful 5-11 vs. the PL at home. The Bolts (+1.5, -286) are 12-21 overall vs. the PL and 6-9 vs. the PL on the road. Such trends make this easy to avoid.

Over/Under (O/U)

A slight lean to the OVER 6.5 (+115). Washington leads the league with 3.56 goals per game, while Tampa Bay is third at 3.52. Both head-to-head battles this season finished Over with the Caps claiming the 4-3 OT game in November and the 5-2 victory a week ago. Plus, the Capitals are 23-13 O/U overall and 12-4 O/U at home, while the Lightning are 20-12 O/U overall, but just 7-8 O/U on the road.

Every $1 bet on the Over profits $1.15 if there are 7 or more goals scored.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Johnny’s December record: 12-3-1. Strongest plays: 6-1.

Follow @JohnnyParlay11 and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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