Hockey Picks - Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators

• Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

  By  Ken Williams

  

  In a matchup of the respective national capitals of the United States and Canada, much will be at stake as the Ottawa Senators host the Washington Capitals on TSN on Wednesday as both teams are fighting for their playoff lives. There will be plenty of hockey picks on both sides of this one with compelling arguments either way.

  Capital Punishment on Road

  Washington has hit at around just 40 percent as a road team this year with roughly 60 percent of their road games going over the total. The Caps had slipped to 11th overall for goal scoring while their defense remains a weakness that ranked 15th for goals against. A big part of the offensive dip was Ovechkin who was averaging less than one point per game, far below his norm. The superstar has done much to undermine his reputation and has come off as a soft drama queen diva. Alex Ovechkin may be the best player in the NHL but his antics have served to harm the Caps who are now in desperation mode as they face the prospect of being on the outside looking in come playoff time.

  The Defense Rests

  Ottawa’s weakness has been a defense that ranked 28th in the NHL for goals against, which has undermined their offense that ranked 8th best for goal scoring in the NHL.

  Trends

  Washington has dominated this overall head to head series as of late with 6 payouts in their last 7 games against Ottawa as just 1 of those 7 games went over the total. Although the Caps have taken 2 of their last 3 games at Ottawa their long term performance has not been good as they have lost 5 of their last 7 visits to the capital of Canada and have paid out in just 7 of their last 20 games overall at Ottawa.

  Hockey Picks

  The general betting public will likely be down on Washington due to their inconsistent play and being on the road but that in fact makes the Caps a great contrarian selection as does the game going under the total.

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