Washington Capitals at Columbus Blue Jackets NHL Picks & Predictions 12/8/2018

Saturday, December 8, 2018

Nationwide Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals travel to Nationwide Arena to play the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday, December 8, 2018. The opening line for this game has the Capitals at +105 and the Blue Jackets at -136.

Washington has a record of 16-9-3 this season. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have scored 102 goals and given up 90 goals for a point differential of +12. For the season they have an ATS record of 15-12-0 and an over/under record of 15-10-0. Columbus has a record of 16-10-2 this year. They are 2nd in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 100 goals and surrendered 95 for a goal differential of +5. Their record against the spread is 15-12-0 while their over/under record is 11-13-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 15-12-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 15-10-0 against the over/under this season

Important Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Trends

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 15-12-0 straight up this year

The Columbus Blue Jackets are 11-13-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

12/06/18 RW T.J. Oshie Head is questionable Saturday vs Columbus
12/06/18 RW Tom Wilson Upper Body is questionable Saturday vs Columbus
11/09/18 D Brooks Orpik Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Columbus Blue Jackets Injuries

12/06/18 LW Anthony Duclair Undisclosed is questionable

Player Spotlight

Braden Holtby has 10 wins and 7 losses this season in net for the Capitals. He has 616 shots against him and he's given up 57 goals. He's made 559 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Nicklas Backstrom has accumulated 34 total points this season for the Capitals. He has 10 goals this year with 61 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 16%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 20.6 minutes played per game. Alex Ovechkin averages 21.1 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by scoring 21 goals on 107 shots. He has 13 assists, giving him a total of 34 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Artemi Panarin has scored 31 total points this year for the Blue Jackets. He has 7 goals this season with 70 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 10%. He has a total of 24 assists on the season and averages 19.5 minutes played per game. Sergei Bobrovsky has 11 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Blue Jackets. He has 594 shots against him and he's surrendered 59 goals. He's made 535 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Cam Atkinson averages 18.9 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by scoring 19 goals on 102 shots. He has 12 assists, giving him a total of 31 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have allowed 103 power play opportunities and have given up 24 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77% this year. That is 25th in the NHL. They average 30 shots per game and as a team shoot 12.24% for the season. They allow 32 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 90%, which is ranked 15th in the league. The Capitals have 35 total points this season, ranking 8th in the NHL in offense. They are 5th in the league with 102 goals while they've given up 90 goals, which is 10th overall. They have had 88 power play opportunities and scored 23 goals on those chances for a percentage of 26%. That is 7th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Blue Jackets are 7th with 100 goals scored while they are 6th in the NHL with 95 goals allowed this year. They average 32 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 11.01%. They give up 31 shots per game and have a save percentage of 89%, putting them in 26th place in the league. The Blue Jackets have a total of 34 points this year, which is 10th in the NHL. They have 15 power play goals on 92 opportunities for a percentage of 16%. That ranks their power play unit 24th. They've allowed 85 power play opportunities and have given up 19 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 78%, which is 20th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Washington is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.5%, as they've attempted 1,573 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,669 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 48.6% as they have 1,168 attempts while they have given up 1,235 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 21st in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 48.6% of the time, which is 23rd in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 51.4% for the season. That is 8th overall in the NHL. They have 802 face-off wins compared to 858 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.3%. That ranks them 23rd in the league. On defense Washington has 621 hits and they have blocked 434 shots from the opposition, putting them 6th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blue Jackets are 13th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 51.6% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 48.4% for the season, which is 20th in the NHL. They have 831 face-off wins compared to 884 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.5%. That is 22nd in the league. On defense Columbus has 525 hits and they have blocked 390 shots from the opposition, which is 21st in the league. Columbus is 16th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 50.1% as they've attempted 1,587 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 1,582 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.3% ranks 11th as they have 1,254 attempts while they have given up 1,192 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Capitals/Blue Jackets NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Washington +105

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