The Washington Capitals (5-4-2) and Detroit Red Wings (4-3-2) meet Thursday at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Capitals vs. Red Wings odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Capitals are coming off a 3-2 setback in overtime Tuesday against the visiting Vegas Golden Knights, their 2nd straight game picking up a point despite not winning. Washington also lost 3-2 in a shootout at the Carolina Hurricanes Monday.
The Red Wings are coming off an 8-3 beating at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres Monday, their 3rd time allowing 5 or more goals in the past 4 outings. Detroit ranks 24th in the NHL with 3.6 GPG allowed, and it would be even worse if not for the league’s 14th-best penalty-kill unit at 80.0%.
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Capitals at Red Wings odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 5:37 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Capitals -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Red Wings +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Capitals -1.5 (+190) | Red Wings +1.5 (-240)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Capitals at Red Wings projected goalies
Darcy Kuemper (4-3-1, 2.39 GAA, .922 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Alex Nedeljkovic (1-2-1, 4.96 GAA, .871 SV%)
Kuemper allowed just 2 goals on 35 shots in the 3-2 SO setback in Carolina Monday. While he is just 1-1-1 across his past 3 starts, he has allowed only 4 total goals. The offensive support has been lacking, unfortunately.
Nedeljkovic has been disastrous so far this season. Things started off fine, allowing just 2 goals on 39 shots in a win in New Jersey on Oct. 15. However, he has allowed 4 or more goals in each of the past 3 starts, including 8 goals on 46 shots in that loss in Buffalo on Halloween.
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Capitals at Red Wings picks and predictions
Prediction
Capitals 5, Red Wings 3
Moneyline
The CAPITALS (-120) are a strong play as road favorites here, as even their struggling offense should be able to get it going against Ned and the Red Wings.
Washington has played 11 games this season, but just 2 inside the Metropolitan Division. It is 1-0-1 in those games, both on the road. Look for more success from the Caps here.
Puck line/Against the spread
The CAPITALS -1.5 (+190) are worth a roll of the dice here, as Nedeljkovic has been very giving, and showing no signs of straightening things out.
The Red Wings’ last 3 losses have been by 13 total goals (4.33 GPG). If you like Detroit to lose, you should pick against it on the puck line, too.
Over/Under
OVER 6.5 (-110) is the lean here despite the offensive struggles of the Caps.
Washington has had a power outage lately, scoring just 7 total goals in the past 4 games after averaging 4.5 GPG in 4 games from Oct. 17-24. However, it should be able to get going against Nedeljkovic.
Detroit has hit the Over at a 5-2-1 clip across the past 8 games overall.
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