In their first head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes meet at PNC Arena in a divisional tilt. The match gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, January 2, and fans at home can witness the game live on NBC Sports Washington.
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes Odds
Carolina (-105) is entering this one as the underdog to Carolina (-115), and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 6 goals. The line for betting that total stands at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
Washington is 24-16 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 5.6 units this year. Through 40 regular season matches, 22 of its games have gone over the total, while 18 have gone under and none have pushed. The Caps are 8-11 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Washington has converted on 19.5 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 19th overall, and the teams successfully killed off 80.4 percent of its penalties.
The Caps, as a collective unit, have been penalized 4.3 times per game overall in the 2017-18 season, and 3.0 per game over its last five. The teams been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
With a .918 save percentage and 28.3 saves per game, Braden Holtby (22-8) has been the top option in goal for Washington this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, the team could turn to Philipp Grubauer (2-11-3), who has a .909 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average this year.
Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Capitals. Ovechkin has 41 points on 24 goals and 17 assists, and has recorded multiple points nine times. Kuznetsov has 12 goals and 27 assists to his nameand has registered at least one point in 24 games.
Carolina is 18-20 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.4 units for moneyline bettors this year. 19 of its outings have gone under the total, while 17 have gone over and just two have pushed. It’s 10-7 SU at home this year.
The Hurricanes have converted on just 15.4 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s ranked 27th in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 24th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 78.7 percent of all opponent power plays.
Hurricanes players have been whistled for penalties only 2.8 times per game in total this season, 2.4 per game over their past five contests total, and 3.2 per game over their last five at home. The team has been forced to stave off opponent power plays just 6.1 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Scott Darling has stopped 24.5 shots per game as the top netminder in goal for the Hurricanes. Darling has eight wins, 17 losses, and six overtime losses to his name and has registered a mediocre 2.88 goals against average and a fairly-weak .896 save percentage this season.
Sebastian Aho (11 goals, 18 assists) and Teuvo Teravainen (nine goals, 20 assists) will lead the attack for the home team.
Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Hurricanes, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- Carolina is 3-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Washington is 3-1 in shootouts.
- The total has gone under in four of Carolina’s last five outings.
- Washington has managed 24.6 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Carolina is averaging 35.6 shots per game over its last five home outings.
- Four of Carolina’s last ten outings have been decided by two or more goals, and the team is 3-1 overall in those games.
- Washington skaters have given out the leagues 10th-most hits per game (22.5).
