Washington Capitals at New York Islanders NHL Picks & Predictions 3/15/2018

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Barclays Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to Barclays Center to take on the New York Islanders on Thursday, March 15, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at -136 and the Islanders at +123.

Washington has a record of 39-23-7 this year and away from home they have a record of 15-14-5-1. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They have tallied 209 goals and surrendered 202 goals for a point differential of +7. For the year they have an ATS mark of 39-30-0 and an over/under record of 38-30-0. New York has a record of 30-29-10 including 16-12-4-1 on home ice this year. They are 7th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 222 goals and have given up 245 for a goal differential of -23. Their record against the spread is 30-39-0 while their over/under mark is 41-25-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 39-30-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 38-30-0 against the over/under this season

Important New York Islanders Betting Trends

The New York Islanders are 30-39-0 straight up this year

The New York Islanders are 41-25-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key New York Islanders Injuries

12/18/17 D Calvin de Haan Shoulder IR (12/16)
11/08/17 LW Nikolay Kulemin Shoulder IR (11/06)
02/24/18 C Alan Quine Lower Body IR (02/22)
02/19/18 GO Thomas Greiss Lower Body IR (02/16)
02/08/18 D Scott Mayfield Lower Body IR (02/06)
01/20/18 LW Shane Prince Upper Body IR (01/18)

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin has scored 74 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 42 goals this season with 298 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 20.1 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 12% by tallying 17 goals on 137 attempts. He has 34 assists, giving him a total of 51 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 29 wins and 15 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,468 shots against him and he's surrendered 137 goals. He's made 1,331 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Josh Bailey has 65 total points this season for the Islanders. He has 17 goals this year with 124 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 48 assists on the year and averages 18 minutes played per contest. Anders Lee averages 17.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 19% by scoring 33 goals on 173 attempts. He has 20 assists, giving him a total of 53 points on the year. Jaroslav Halak has 18 wins and 22 losses this season in net for the Islanders. He has 1,559 shots against him and he's given up 144 goals. He's made 1,415 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 85 total points this year, which is 8th in the NHL. They've scored 209 goals while giving up 202 scores, which has them ranked 11th and 19th respectively. They have had 201 power play chances and scored 44 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 22%. That is 5th in the league. The Capitals have given up 225 power play opportunities and surrendered 45 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 18th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.47% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 19th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Islanders are 22nd in the league with a total of 70 points this season. They have 43 power play goals on 209 chances for a percentage of 21%. That is 14th in the NHL. They've given up 195 power play opportunities and surrendered 48 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 75%, ranking 29th overall. As a team, the Islanders are 8th with a total of 222 goals scored while they've given up 245 goals this season, ranking 1st in goals against. They average 31 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.36%. As a unit they give up 36 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 26th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington is 26th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.8%, as they've attempted 3,830 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,186 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 47.2% as they have 2,838 attempts while they have given up 3,180 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 30th in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.6% of the time, which is 21st in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season. That is 15th overall in the NHL. They have 2,057 face-off wins compared to 2,037 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.2%. That ranks them 19th in the league. On defense Washington has 1,529 hits and they have blocked 1,006 shots from the opposition, putting them 18th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Islanders are 31st in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.5% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.5% for the season, which is 1st in the NHL. They have 2,015 face-off wins compared to 2,140 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.5%. That is 23rd in the league. On defense New York has 1,571 hits and they have blocked 1,067 shots from the opposition, which is 12th in the league. New York is 30th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 47.1% as they've attempted 3,934 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,421 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 46.3% ranks 31st as they have 2,896 attempts while they have given up 3,354 shots on the defensive end.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Washington -136

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