The Washington Capitals look to even the series at one game apiece at T-Mobile Arena in Game 2 of the . The opening face-off takes place at 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 30, and it’ll be shown live on NBC Sports Network.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights Odds
Vegas (-155) is currently the favorite over Washington (+135) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The odds for betting that total sit at -120 for the over and +100 for the under.
Netting moneyline bettors 26.6 units, Vegas is 64-34 straight up (SU) overall thus far. Among its 98 games this season, 48 have gone over the total, while 46 have gone under and just four have pushed. The team is 36-13 SU at home this year.
The Golden Knights offensive attack attempted 32.6 shots per game in the regular season, resulting in 3.3 goals per outing (ranked fourth overall in the NHL). In the postseason, the teams maintaining an average of 31.7 shots on goal 3.1 goals per game.
Following a regular season where they scored on 21.3 percent of all power-play chances (the 10th-strongest), the Golden Knights have been able to score on 19.2 percent of their extra-man advantages in the postseason.
Averaging 28.7 saves per game with a .931 save percentage, Marc-Andre Fleury (42-20-5) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Knights this season. If the Knights, however, decide to give him the evening off, Vegas could go with Malcolm Subban (15-7-7 record, .910 save percentage, 2.68 goals against average).
The Knights will continue to look for offensive production out of Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson. Marchessault (94 points) has tallied 35 goals and 59 assists and has recorded two or more points on 28 different occasions this year. Karlsson has 50 goals and 42 assists to his name and has notched at least one point in 61 contests.
On the other bench, Washington is 61-41 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 15.6 units this season. Through 102 regular season matches, 54 of its games have gone over the total, while 43 have gone under and just five have pushed. The Capitals are 29-23 SU as the road team this season.
The Capitals have converted on 23.7 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that places it in the top-10 among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 16th overall and it’s successfully killed off 79.2 percent of all penalties.
Washington’s players have been penalized 4.0 times per game this season, and 2.2 per game over their past five outings. The teams been forced to kill penalties just 7.2 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Braden Holtby (27.0 saves per game) has been the primary choice in goal for Washington. Holtby has 46 wins, 27 losses, and five overtime losses to his credit, and has registered a .910 save percentage and 2.78 goals against average this year.
Alex Ovechkin (61 goals, 49 assists) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (38 goals, 70 assists) have been the top playmakers for Washington and will lead the attack for the visiting Capitals.
Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights Betting Predictions
Free NHL Tip: SU Winner – Golden Knights, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Seven of Vegas last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals. The team is 5-2 overall in those games.
- Extra-man opportunities could prove to be critical in tonights game. The Capitals are 18-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 34-22 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total. The Golden Knights are 25-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 49-20 when they’re in the box for less than 10 minutes.
- Vegas is 4-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
- The total has gone under in three of Vegas last five outings.
- Vegas has averaged 12.6 giveaways over its last five home games, a rise over its season average of 9.5 giveaways per game (ranked 15th overall).
- Washington is ranked 25th this season with 10.4 giveaways per game. That figures trended lower recently, however, as the teams averaged 7.5 giveaways over its last 10 games and 7.4 giveaways over its last five.
