Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights Free Preview 2/17/20

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John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, and the Washington Capitals will do battle against Mark Stone, Max Pacioretty, and the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena in an East-West showdown. AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain will broadcast the game, which gets going at 6 p.m. ET on Monday, February 17.

Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights Odds

The Golden Knights (-135) are being labeled as the favorites over the Capitals (+115) and the Over/Under (O/U) is placed at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under).

Washington is 37-21 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 4.6 units this season. Through 58 regular season matches, 36 of its games have gone over the total, while 20 have gone under and just two have pushed. This 2019-20 Capitals team is 21-8 SU on the road.

Washington has converted on 20.5 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, it has the sixth-strongest penalty kill in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 83.7 percent of all penalties..

With a .897 save percentage and 25.4 saves per game, Braden Holtby (22-18-4) has been the best option in goal for Washington this season. If Washington chooses to rest him, however, they could turn to Ilya Samsonov (16-7-1 record, .917 save percentage, 2.38 goals against average).

Over on the other bench, Vegas is 30-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 15.5 units for moneyline bettors thus far. 30 of its matches have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just four have pushed. This year, the team is 16-14 SU at home.

The Golden Knights have converted on 21.8 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.3 percent of all opponent power plays.

Marc-Andre Fleury (26.2 saves per game) has been the primary netminder in the crease for the Golden Knights. Fleury has 22 wins, 20 losses, and five overtime losses and has registered a fairly-weak .905 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average this season.

Washington Capitals vs. Vegas Golden Knights Betting Picks

NHL Pick: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under

Betting Trends

  • The Capitals are 12-8 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 20-10 in games where they serve fewer than 10 penalty minutes, in total.
  • Vegas is 3-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-2 in shootouts.
  • For both of these teams, the total has gone over in three of their last five outings.
  • Washington has averaged 12.8 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 11.3 giveaways per game (ranked 22nd in the NHL).
  • Vegas skaters have averaged 7.8 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 8.7 giveaways per game (the 7th-fewest in the NHL).
  • This game features two of the more aggressive teams in the league. Washington skaters have accounted for the league’s sixth-most hits per game (24.6) while the Golden Knights have handed the fifth-most (27.4).