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.
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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.
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