Squaring off for the final time this year, the Edmonton Oilers and the Washington Capitals face off at Capital One Arena. The opening face-off takes place at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, November 5, and you’ll be able to catch this East-West matchup live on Sportsnet West.
Edmonton Oilers vs. Washington Capitals Odds
Washington (-150) is currently the favorite over Edmonton (+130) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at an even 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -115 money on the over and -105 for the under.
Edmonton is 8-5 straight up (SU) and has netted 4.0 units for moneyline bettors this season. Through 13 regular season matches, seven of its games have gone under the total, while six have gone over and none have pushed. As the road team in 2018-19, the Oilers are 5-2 SU.
Edmonton has scored on 21.7 percent of its power play chances thus far. That’s a good improvement from last season, when it was ranked 31st in the NHL by scoring on 14.8 percent of its extra-man advantages. Its penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year, however, as the team’s gone from successfully defending 76.7 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 25th overall last year) to 73.2 percent this year.
For the team as a whole, Edmonton has been penalized just 3.7 times per game this season, a number that is pretty close to last year’s 3.6 penalties per game. After serving an average of 9.2 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for 8.5 minutes per outing this year.
With a .904 save percentage and 26.5 saves per game, Cam Talbot (5-5-1) has been the top option in goal for Edmonton this year. If Edmonton decides to rest him, however, they could roll with Mikko Koskinen (3-0), who has a .935 save percentage and 2.02 goals against average this year.
The visiting Oilers have relied on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl heavily this year. McDavid has 21 points on nine goals and 12 assists, and has recorded two or more points six times. Draisaitl has seven goals and seven assists to his credit, and has logged a point in nine games.
Over on the other bench, Washington is 5-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Nine of its contests have gone over the total, while three have gone under and none have pushed. This year, the team’s 3-3 SU at home.
Washington currently has the second-best power-play unit in the NHL, as the team has converted on 35.9 percent of its extra-man advantages this season. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 23rd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.0 percent of all penalties.
The Capitals have been penalized 4.2 times per game this season. Last year, that number was at 4.0, the seventh-highest mark in the NHL. After serving an average of 9.5 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team has been forced to kill penalties for 8.8 minutes per contest this year.
Braden Holtby has denied 26.9 shots per game as the primary netminder in the crease for Washington. Holtby has four wins, six losses, and three overtime losses to his credit and has registered a mediocre 3.62 goals against average and a subpar .888 save percentage this year.
The Caps will be led on offense by Evgeny Kuznetsov (six goals, 11 assists).
Edmonton Oilers vs. Washington Capitals Betting Picks
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- After winning three of its four shootouts last year, Washington is off to a 1-1 start in shootouts this season. Edmonton went 5-1 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their past five games.
- Edmonton skaters notched 26.0 hits per game last season, while the Capitals accounted for 24.2 hits per matchup.
