The Washington Capitals haven’t been playing well of late, but they still hold down first place in the Metropolitan Division as they welcome the Winnipeg Jets for their only visit of the season to D.C. on Tuesday. The Caps are big favorites on the Mybookie NHL odds. Let’s see how the NHL odds will be for the Jets vs Capitals.
Jets vs Capitals 2020 NHL Game Preview & Betting Odds
- When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Capital One Arena
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Opening NHL Lines: Capitals -180, Jets +160 (total 6.5)
Jets vs Capitals Season Series
First meeting – they play again Thursday in Winnipeg. Last year, both games ended 3-1 with the home team winning. Carl Hagelin scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway in the Caps’ victory. Washington won despite being outshot 34-17, thanks to the goals by Hagelin and Nicklas Backstrom and an empty-netter from Lars Eller to go along with 33 saves from Pheonix Copley. Connor Hellebuyck made 15 saves in the loss.
Why Bet on Winnipeg?
The Jets enter on a two-game skid as they were beaten 2-1 in Buffalo on Sunday in the second of a back-to-back. Blake Wheeler scored Winnipeg’s only goal. Wheeler got the Jets on the board at the 16:37 mark of the first period to tie the game at 1-1, but that was the only offense the Jets could muster. Jansen Harkins and Mark Scheifele assisted on Wheeler’s 21st goal of the season. Winnipeg won 67.9% of the face-offs, which was the 11th most in a game in franchise history.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 shots in the contest, but allowed the game winner to Kyle Okposo at the 7:47 mark of the third period. Okposo also had Buffalo’s other goal in the contest. Hellebuyck also played in a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday, so his record is now 26-20-5 on the year.
Defenseman Josh Morrissey missed the game due to injury. Morrissey scored a goal and logged 17:19 of ice time on Saturday versus Philadelphia. He has 29 points in 61 games this year. Cody Eakin made his Jets debut Sunday and had one shot on goal. Eakin was acquired from Vegas on Friday.
Winnipeg is in a stretch of five of six games on the road. The Jets are 2-6-0 in their past eight road games, but are still tied for 12th in the NHL on the road this season with a record of 16-13-2. The Jets are a perfect 10-for-10 on the penalty kill in their past three road games to push themselves to 80% for the season, which is 13th in the league.
The Jets have allowed the first goal of the game in eight consecutive contests. Winnipeg is 12-19-4 this season when trailing first, which is tied for the seventh most wins.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.02
- Shots: 31.22
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.42
- Goals: 2.98
- Shots: 32.64
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.84
Why Bet on Washington?
The Caps ended a four-game slide Sunday with a 5-3 win over Pittsburgh. Carl Hagelin scored a pair of goals. Hagelin gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at the 4:41 mark of the third period and sealed Washington’s win with an empty-netter. He has seven goals and 21 points in 51 games this season, with six goals and six assists coming in his last 15 outings.
Braden Holtby stopped 32 shots. Holtby allowed two goals on 10 shots during the second period when the Penguins took a 2-1 lead. He turned aside 16 of 17 shots in the third period and the Capitals scored four times to get him his 22nd win of the season. Holtby also ended a three-game winless skid (0-2-1) with Sunday’s victory.
John Carlson now has the most points by a defenseman in Capitals history. Carlson picked up an assist in Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh to give him 475 career points in 750 games. Calle Johansson was the former record holder, with 474 points in 983 career contests. Carlson has racked up 72 points, including 57 helpers, in 62 games this season.
This should be the Capitals debut of Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian was dealt from the Canadiens on Sunday for a third-round pick in the 2020 Draft. He had six goals and 13 points in 22 games for Montreal
The Jets are 1-for-20 (5.0%) on the power play in their past six games against the Capitals, but are 10-for-11 (90.9%) on the penalty kill in the past four meetings. The Jets are 9-10-4 against the Capitals since the franchise moved to Winnipeg. The Jets are winless in their past seven games in Washington (0-5-2). The Jets’ last win at Capital One Center was on Jan. 22/13 in a game in which Blake Wheeler scored the game-winning goal.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.52
- Shots: 31.97
- PP/PK Percentage: 19.9
- Goals: 3.06
- Shots: 29.97
- PP/PK Percentage: 16.51
Jets vs Capitals Game Trends
- Jets are 4-12 in the last 16 meetings.
- Jets are 7-19 in the last 26 meetings in Washington.
- Over is 21-8-1 in the last 30 meetings in Washington.
- Home team is 10-1 in the last 11 meetings.
- Favorite is 11-1 in the last 12 meetings.
Jets vs Capitals Expert Prediction
Capitals 4, Jets 3
