The Washington Capitals (34-32-9) visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-26-6) Thursday. Puck drop from Amalie Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Capitals vs. Lightning odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Capitals were tripped up 2-1 in a shootout by the visiting New York Islanders Wednesday. Washington is 5 points out of the final Eastern Conference Wild Card with just 7 regular-season games remaining.
The Lightning snapped a 4-game losing skid with a 4-0 shutout of the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Tuesday night behind G Andrei Vasilevskiy.
This is the first meeting between these teams since a home-and-home set in November. The Lightning doubled up the Capitals 6-3 on Nov. 13 in Tampa, bouncing back after a 5-1 loss in D.C. on Nov. 11.
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Capitals at Lightning odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:05 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Capitals +180 (bet $100 to win $180) | Lightning -210 (bet $210 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Capitals +1.5 (-145) | Lightning -1.5 (+125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +105 | U: -125)
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Capitals at Lightning projected goalies
Darcy Kuemper (21-23-5, 2.76 GAA, .911 SV%, 5 SO) vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy (32-20-4, 2.64 GAA, .915 SV%, 3 SO)
Kuemper allowed just a single goal on 29 shots in the loss against the Islanders Wednesday. He has been hit or miss lately, allowing 4 goals in 3 of the past 6 starts and allowing 1 goal in each of the other 3 outings.
Vasilevskiy turned aside all 31 shots he faced in Carolina Tuesday, snapping a personal 3-game losing streak. He is still 4-5-2 with a 2.99 GAA and .900 SV% across 11 starts in March.
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Capitals at Lightning picks and predictions
Prediction
Lightning 5, Capitals 3
Moneyline
The Lightning (-210) looked championship-caliber last time out in Carolina, but are still just 1-4 in the past 5 games overall. This price is beyond my moneyline limit of -180, but even that would be too expensive.
PASS.
Puck line/Against the spread
TAMPA BAY -1.5 (+125) is a strong play on the puck line. The home side has won 4 straight meetings in this series, and the home team won by 3 or more goals in each of the 2 meetings this season.
While Tampa Bay has won just 6 times in 12 games dating back to March 7, 5 of those wins are by 2 or more goals. If you like the Lightning to win, you should like them to cover the puck line, too.
Over/Under
OVER 6.5 (-102) is the lean.
The Over has cashed in 8 of the past 9 games overall for the Capitals, including 4 in a row on the road. The Over is 4-1 in the past 5 against winning teams for the Caps, too.
The Over has cashed in 5 of the Lightning’s last 7 games at home and is 6-2-1 in their last 9 games against Metropolitan Division teams.
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