There are a lot of sports that have long seasons, but there are few as tough as the 82-game grind that is the NHL season. As if surviving that wasn’t bad enough, the teams that make it into the postseason potentially need to play an additional 28 games to win the Stanley Cup. It is for this reason that the teams who make a deep run in the playoffs often experience a little bit of a hangover during the following season. Both of last season’s Stanley Cup Finalists – the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals – saw their new season get off to a bit of a slow start, but both teams are now back at or near the top of their respective divisions.
The defending champion Washington Capitals have a slender lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division and will be looking to maintain that top spot when they go on the road to face the Dallas Stars on Friday night. The Caps may be on the roads, but they are in as an NHL Betting favorite for this one.
Capitals vs Stars NHL Betting Lines & Game Info
CAPS TODAY: In his last five starts, Pheonix Copley has posted a record of 5-0-0 with a 1.97 goals against average and a .936 save percentage. He’s expected to start against the Dallas Stars tonight. More info on https://t.co/HecIC0ECg1 pic.twitter.com/EVTmHpxM8D
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) 4 de enero de 2019
- When: Friday, January 4 at 8 PM EST
- Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas
- TV: NHL Network
- Radio: TuneIn
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Odds: Dallas Stars -1.5 (Total 6)
Jets vs Penguins NHL Week 14 Odds & Prediction
Team Records
- All: Capitals 24-12-3 / Stars 21-16-4
- Home: Capitals 12-6-2 / Stars 13-5-2
- Away: Capitals 12-6-1 / Stars 8-11-2
- ATS: Capitals 19-20 / Stars 24-17
- Over/Under: Capitals 21-16-2 / Stars 15-22-4
Why bet on the Washington Capitals?
The Capitals are seeing their lead atop the division start to slip away, as their back to back losses have opened the door for the second place Penguins, who are currently on a 7-game win streak. Those two losses aside, the Capitals have still been playing good hockey of late, winning 7 of their last 10 games.
It’s probably no real surprise to learn that the Capitals are among the top scorers in the league this season, or that Alexander Ovechkin already has 30 goals to his name, which just happens to have him as the top scorer in the NHL. Washington has been consistently good wherever they play, going a very solid 12-6-1 in road games this season. Dallas was a bit of a bogey team for the Caps, but Washington has now won 3 of the last 5 meetings with the Stars.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.59
- Shots: 29.46
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.69
- Goals: 3.00
- Shots: 32.26
- PP/PK Percentage: 23.02
Why bet on the Dallas Stars?
The Stars have taken advantage of some poor recent form from Colorado to sneak into the #3 spot in the Central Division, although they still have some ground to make up on the Jets and Predators ahead of them. If this team is going to make up that difference, they will probably start by continuing with their great form on home ice, where they are 13-5-2 on the season.
This is not a Dallas team that has the firepower to hang with Washington, as they are way down the league in scoring, but with a defense that ranks in the top 5 in the league, they may just be able to slow down the Caps killer offense. Dallas won the earlier meeting this season in a 4-3 road victory.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 2.76
- Shots: 30.34
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.95
- Goals: 2.68
- Shots: 31.59
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.46
Capitals vs Stars NHL Week 14 Betting Trends
- Washington is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games
- Washington is 16-5 SU in its last 21 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Washington’s last 7 games
- Dallas is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home
- Dallas is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games at home
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Dallas’s last 6 games
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction for Capitals vs Stars
There is a little bit of a strange quirk in scoring when these two go head to head in that 5 of the last 6 meetings has seen the winner come away with a 4-3 win. Let’s go with that same score once again, although let’s go in favor of Washington this time around.
Score: Washington Capitals 4 – Dallas Stars 3
