Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and the Colorado Avalanche will do battle against John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in an East-West matchup. The action gets going at 5 p.m. ET on Monday, October 14 and it will be broadcasted live on NBC Sports Washington.
Colorado Avalanche at Washington Capitals Odds
Boasting a -125 moneyline, Washington enters the matchup as the favorite. The line for the Avalanche is standing at +105, and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals (-110 over, -110 under).
Colorado is 4-0 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.0 units for moneyline bettors this year. That SU win percentage, ranked first in the NHL so far in this young season, represents a welcome improvement compared to what the team did during the 2018-19 season (38-44).
The Avalanche have scored on 27.8 percent of their power play opportunities so far. That’s a nice improvement from last year, when they were ranked 10th in the league by converting on 21.0 percent of their extra-man advantages. Their penalty kill has fallen off noticeably, however, as they’ve gone from successfully defending 79.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 22nd overall last year) to 75.0 percent this year..
With a .931 save percentage and 31.7 saves per game, Philipp Grubauer (3-0) has been the top option in goal for Colorado this year. If Colorado decides to rest him, however, the team might turn to Pavel Francouz (1-0 record, .944 save percentage, 1.90 goals against average).
Washington is 3-3 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.1 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through six regular season matches, four of its games have gone under the total, while two have gone over and none have pushed. It’s 0-2 SU at home this season.
The Capitals have scored on 20.0 percent of their extra-man advantages this year after converting on 21.2 percent (ranked ninth in league) last season. They have killed off a remarkable 85.7 percent of their penalties, a few points better than the 79.7 percent they recorded a year ago (when they were ranked 19th in the NHL).
Braden Holtby (24.8 saves per game) has been the top option in goal for the Capitals. Holtby has one win, three losses, and two OT losses to his credit and has registered a pedestrian 3.67 goals against average and a subpar .868 save percentage this season.
Colorado Avalanche at Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
Free Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Colorado has managed only 0.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Washington is averaging 33.0 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Washington has yet to lose a game by two more more goals this season.
- Colorado skaters notched 21.9 hits per game last season, while the Caps forced 24.2 hits per contest.
