In their third and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals meet at Capital One Arena for an Eastern Conference tilt. This one will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, February 27 and it’ll air live on NBC Sports Washington.
Ottawa Senators vs. Washington Capitals Odds
Washington (-215) is currently the favorite over Ottawa (+180), and the Over/Under (O/U) has been set at 6 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).
Washington is 35-28 straight up (SU) and has earned 3.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked 2nd in the Metropolitan Division in this young season, is a regression from the 55-27 record that the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Through 63 regular season matches, 36 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 25 have gone under and just one has pushed. The team is 21-11 SU at home this year.
The Capitals have converted on 21.9 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that places them in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 20th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 79.4 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Capitals have been called for penalties 4.1 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five contests at home. The team has had to defend opposition power plays for just 4.4 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
With a .908 save percentage and 28.2 saves per game, Braden Holtby (28-18-4) has been the top goalkeeper for Washington this season. Holtby did just play yesterday, however, so the team might choose to give him the night off and instead turn to Philipp Grubauer (7-16-16 record, .921 save percentage, 2.45 goals against average).
Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will both lead the offensive attack for the Capitals. Ovechkin (71 points) has produced 39 goals and 32 assists and has recorded two or more points in 19 different games this year. Kuznetsov has 17 goals and 42 assists to his name and has notched a point in 38 games.
Over on the other bench, Ottawa is 21-40 straight up (SU) and has lost 19.3 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of 33 of its contests have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under and none have pushed. As a road team, the Senators are 7-22 SU.
The Senators have converted on just 16.6 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that places them in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 29th overall and it’s successfully killed off 75.1 percent of all opponent power plays.
Ottawa’s skaters have been whistled for penalties 3.6 times per game this season, and 3.0 per game over their last five games. The team’s been forced to kill penalties just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Craig Anderson (27.5 saves per game) has been the main option in goal for Ottawa. Anderson owns an 18-28-5 record, and has registered a .901 save percentage and 3.27 goals against average this year.
Mark Stone (19 goals, 37 assists) has been one of the most vital offensive playmakers for the visiting Senators.
Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Ottawa is 2-6 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
- The over has hit in four of Ottawa’s last five games.
- Six of Ottawa’s last ten games have been decided by two goals or more. The team is 2-4 in those games.
- Ottawa skaters have accounted for the league’s seventh-most hits per game (24.0).
