Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and the Washington Capitals will face off against Alexander Radulov, Tyler Seguin, and the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center for an East-West tilt. The first puck will drop at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, January 4, and you can see it live on Fox Sports Southwest Plus.
Washington Capitals vs. Dallas Stars Odds
Moneyline and Over/Under (O/U) odds have not yet been posted for this matchup.
Washington is 24-15 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 6.5 units this season. 20 of its games have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just two have pushed. As a road team in 2018-19, the Caps are 12-7 SU.
Washington has converted on 22.7 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off 77.0 percent of its penalties..
Sporting a .910 save percentage and 28.6 saves per game, Braden Holtby (15-13-3) has been the best option in goal for Washington this year. Holtby did just play last night, however, so the team could decide to rest him and instead go with Pheonix Copley (10-3-1 record, .914 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average).
Over on the other bench, Dallas is 21-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.8 units for moneyline bettors this year. 22 of its contests have gone under the total, while 15 have gone over and just four have pushed. It’s 13-7 SU at home this season.
The Stars have converted on just 21.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 10th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.5 percent of all penalties.
Ben Bishop has stopped 27.3 shots per game as the top option in goal for the Stars. Bishop has 14 wins, 12 losses, and two OT losses and has registered a .923 save percentage and 2.35 goals against average this year.
Washington Capitals vs. Dallas Stars Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- The Capitals are 9-5 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 17-8 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Two of Washington’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 2-0 in those games and 3-1 overall in shootouts this season.
- The total has gone under in four of Washington’s last five games.
- Washington is ranked 24th this season with 11.5 giveaways per game. That figure’s trended higher recently, as it’s averaged 14.4 giveaways over its last 10 games and 14.2 giveaways over its last five.
- Dallas is ranked 22nd this season with 11.4 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward lately, as the team’s averaged 12.7 giveaways over its last 10 games and 12.2 giveaways over its last five.
- The Stars this season have tallied the 11th-most hits in the NHL (22.5 per game).
