The Washington Capitals (27-7-5) visit the Carolina Hurricanes (22-14-2) Saturday at PNC Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET between the two Metropolitan Division rivals. We analyze the Capitals-Hurricanes sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Capitals at Hurricanes: Projected starting goalies
Braden Holtby vs. Petr Mrazek
Holtby enters off a loss Monday in which he allowed four goals on just 11 shots against the Boston Bruins. He is 17-5-4 with a .907 save percentage and 2.87 goals against average through 27 starts.
Mrazek gave up four goals on 31 shots and took the loss Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs after relieving James Reimer. Mrazek has a .902 SV% and 2.69 GAA for a 14-8-2 record through 23 starts and the one relief appearance.
Place a sports bet on this hockey action or other games at BetMGM.
Capitals at Hurricanes: 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 11:10 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Capitals 4, Hurricanes 1
Moneyline (ML)
Take the CAPITALS (+100) at plus-money. Washington is 16-4-1 away from home this season and 7-3 over its last 10 games. The Caps beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 in overtime Friday as they enter into the second half of the back-to-back. The Hurricanes (-121) are 10-6-0 on home ice, but they’ve dropped three straight games, including a 5-3 road loss to the New York Rangers Friday.
Carolina claimed a 3-2 overtime victory over the Capitals in Washington Oct. 5, as the only meeting of the two sides this year, but they’ll play three times between Saturday and Jan. 13.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Capitals to win outright returns a profit of $10.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
PASS on the spread. The underdog Capitals (+1.5, -278) aren’t worth the risk at a chalky price, while the favored Hurricanes (-1.5, +220) are highly unlikely to buck the three-game skid with a win by 2 or more goals. The Capitals are 21-18 against the spread overall and 15-6 as the visitors. The Hurricanes are 17-21 ATS overall and just 7-9 at home. It’s another push toward the outright victory for Washington.
Over/Under (O/U)
Take the UNDER 5.5 (+125) as a contrarian play at plus-money. We’ll need just one of the two goaltenders to bounce back from poor outings before the holiday break.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 144-115
Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.
Follow @EstenMcLaren 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.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=2059]