The Capitals and Islanders are tied for the lead in the NHL East Division with identical 29-13-4 records. The two teams will meet in the second of three consecutive on Saturday.
The three-game set will conclude the season series between the two teams. Saturday?s game, as well as the other two, will have serious playoff implications as the regular season nears its end.
BETTING NHL PUCK LINES AT ONLINE SPORTSBOOKS
Game: Washington Capitals (29-13-4, 23-23 ATS ) vs. New York Islanders (29-13-4, 24-22 ATS)
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 24, 2021
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Brooklyn, New York
Current Line: OFF Total: OFF
TV Coverage: ESPN+
The two teams have met five times already this season. The Capitals won the first three games 3-2, 6-3, and 3-1. The Islanders rallied and won the next two 8-4 and 1-0.
Washington and New York are two very different teams this 2021 NHL season. The Capitals are one of the league?s more explosive offensive teams. In fact, Washington ranks No. 2 in goals scored per game at 3.5.
Alexander Ovechkin is one of the game?s all-time great scorers and he leads the Caps with 24 goals this season. C Niklas Backstrom is another piece of the pie for the Capitals with 14 goals and a team-high 47 points.
The Islanders, on the other hand, are built around defense. The Islanders rank No. 2 just behind Vegas in goals allowed per game (2.28). Goaltender Semyon Varlamov has 17 wins, a .923 save percentage, and a 2.2 goals against average.
As a result of New York?s penchant for defense, the total in each of the five Caps-Islanders games so far has been set at 5.5. Three of the games have gone Under. In the other two, Washington scored six goals in a 6-3 win and the Islanders uncharacteristically scored eight in an 8-4 victory over the Caps.
The total is likely to be set at 5.5 again, but the volatility of totals in the series thus far leads us to a better play on this game. When the two teams met early in the season in Washington, New York was a +110 favorite in both games.
The Caps two wins were victories for those that played the home underdog. The third game was also in Washington, but this time the Capitals were a -105 favorite.
The next two games - April 1 and April 6 - were both at Nassau Coliseum in Brooklyn. Not surprisingly, Washington was the underdog in both games - +100 in the first and +105 in the second.
You can probably figure out how this is going to work. Saturday?s game is in Brooklyn again and the Islanders have won seven of their last ten games. Look for New York to be favored at home again.
The two teams play on Thursday night in Brooklyn and the Capitals are already a +110 underdog. This is a great situation to jump on the road dog on the puck line.
NHL road underdogs have covered the spread 61 percent (246-157) of the time this season.
NHL Free Pick: Capitals Puckline +1.5 (down to +100)
Check out our last article, it was a Blackhawks at Red Wings free pick.
