No question that the game of the week around the NHL is Wednesday’s matchup between Boston and Washington, the two best teams in the Eastern Conference and perhaps the entire NHL. The Capitals are slight NHL betting home favorites at Mybookie.
How to Bet Bruins vs Capitals NHL Week 10 Odds & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Capital One Arena
- TV: NBC
- NHL Week 10 Odds: Washington Capitals -130 (Total 6 goals)
Bruins vs Capitals Season Series
Second of three regular-season meetings with Washington winning the first 3-2 in a shootout in Boston on Nov. 16. TJ Oshie tied the game with about a minute left and Jakob Vruna won it in the shootout.Charlie Coyle scored to open the shootout for Boston, but Braden Holtby stopped the next four tries. Nicklas Backstrom tied it on Washington’s third try and then, after Jaroslav Halak stopped Alex Ovechkin via replay review, Vrana scored the winner.
Why Bet on Boston?
The Bruins are 20-5-6 but enter on a season-high three-game winning streak. They were perhaps looking ahead to this game when they were stunned 5-2 at a bad Ottawa club on Monday. Anthony Duclair had two goals and one assist, and Anders Nilsson made 38 saves for the Sens. The win was Ottawa’s first over the Bruins since April 6, 2017.“We’re going through a tough stretch in terms of getting our energy level where it needs to be, having no passengers,” said Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy, whose team has lost three in a row and two straight in regulation for just the second time this season.
Tuukka Rask allowed three goals on 26 shots in the loss. Two of Ottawa’s five goals were scored into an empty net. Rask allowed all three goals in the first 21:21 of the game and the Bruins were never able to get back into the game. It was the veteran’s first regulation loss since Nov. 8.
A Little Help
Center Patrice Bergeron made his return to the lineup after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury and had a goal. The veteran cut Ottawa’s lead to 2-1 late in the first period. The 34-year-old has nine goals and 25 points in 22 games this season. Jake DeBrusk scored a power-play goal; DeBrusk cut Boston’s deficit to 4-2 at the 17:45 mark of the third period.DeBrusk’s tally helped Boston break a dry spell on the man advantage. The Bruins had been 0 for their last 14 before the marker and remain just 2 for 20 over the last seven games.
Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak both had two assists. Pastrnak hasn’t scored a goal in the past four games, but he has three assists and 13 shots during that span. Pastrnak still leads the league with 25 goals in 31 matches. Marchand leads the Bruins and sits fourth in the league with 46 points (18 goals, 28 assists) in 31 games.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.45
- Shots: 31.42
- PP/PK Percentage: 27.96
Defense
- Goals: 2.52
- Shots: 31.19
- PP/PK Percentage: 14.89
Why Bet on Washington?
The Capitals (22-5-5) had a six-game winning streak snapped in a home upset loss to Columbus on Monday, 5-2. Washington hadn’t lost in regulation since Nov. 20. Columbus won for just the third time in nine games. Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who faced only six shots in the first period, came alive when he saw more action and finished with 37 saves.Alex Ovechkin picked up a goal and an assist in the loss. Ovechkin came into this game with no points in his previous three games. The Capitals went into the third period trailing 2-0, but Ovechkin managed to cut his team’s deficit in half just 40 seconds into the frame. The Caps captain also registered the primary assist on Nicklas Backstrom’s tally later on in the period. He has 21 goals and 33 points in 32 games this season.
Backstrom was back in the lineup after missing eight games with an upper-body injury. He had that goal and an assist. The 32-year-old has five goals and 20 points in 24 games this season.
Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 37 shots. Holtby owns a 15-3-4 record with a 2.84 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage this season. Holtby has earned a point in 16 of his last 18 games and 19 of his 23 games played this season.
Some Rankings
The Capitals rank fifth in the NHL on the power play. The Capitals hold a 14-3-1 record this season when they score a power play goal, and the Capitals haven’t gone more than two consecutive games without a power play goal this season.
Among active players, Ovechkin’s 255 power play goals rank first in the NHL, 85 more than Patrick Marleau (170), who ranks second, while Backstrom’s 291 power play assists rank third. Additionally, John Carlson’s 78 power play points (9g, 69a) since 2017-18 rank first among defensemen. Ovechkin is two power play goals shy of passing Teemu Selanne for the third-most power play goals in NHL history.
Carlson leads all NHL defensemen in goals (11), assists (32) and points (43) and ranks third in the NHL in assists (Leon Draisaitl: 34; Connor McDavid: 33). Carlson has recorded a point in 12 of his last 17 games. Carlson is on pace for 113 points over an 82-game season. Only five defensemen in NHL history have recorded more than 100 points in a season.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.66
- Shots: 31.53
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.68
Defense
- Goals: 2.91
- Shots: 31.19
- PP/PK Percentage: 15.32
Bruins vs Capitals NHL Betting Trends
- Underdog is 6-1 in the last 7 meetings
- Road team is 6-2 in the last 8 meetings
- Over is 4-1-1 in the last 6 meetings in Washington
- Bruins are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston’s last 5 games against an opponent in the East conference
- Capitals are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games this season
- The total has gone OVER in 4 of Washington’s last 5 games against an opponent in the East conference
