Washington Capitals at Ottawa Senators NHL Picks & Predictions 12/29/2018

Saturday, December 29, 2018

Canadian Tire Centre

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to Canadian Tire Centre to take on the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, December 29, 2018. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at -195 and the Senators at +175.

Washington has a record of 23-10-3 this year. They are 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They've tallied 132 goals and surrendered 104 goals for a point differential of +28. For the year they have an ATS mark of 23-13-0 and an over/under record of 19-15-0. Ottawa has a record of 15-18-4 this season. They are 8th in the Atlantic Division. They have scored 118 goals and given up 144 for a goal differential of -26. Their record against the spread is 15-22-0 while their over/under mark is 24-10-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 23-13-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 19-15-0 against the over/under this season

Important Ottawa Senators Betting Trends

The Ottawa Senators are 15-22-0 straight up this year

The Ottawa Senators are 24-10-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

12/27/18 D Matt Niskanen Head left last game, is questionable Saturday vs Ottawa
12/14/18 D Christian Djoos Lower Body is out indefinitely
11/09/18 D Brooks Orpik Lower Body is out indefinitely

Key Ottawa Senators Injuries

12/27/18 GO Craig Anderson Concussion is downgraded to out Friday vs NY Islanders & Saturday vs Washington
12/27/18 D Justin Falk Concussion is downgraded to out Friday vs NY Islanders & Saturday vs Washington
10/04/18 RW Marian Gaborik Back is out indefinitely
10/01/18 C Jean-Gabriel Pageau Achilles is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has scored 42 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 10 goals this season with 71 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 32 assists on the year and averages 20.4 minutes played per contest. Alex Ovechkin averages 21.2 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 20% by tallying 29 goals on 145 attempts. He has 16 assists, giving him a total of 45 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 15 wins and 8 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 804 shots against him and he's surrendered 68 goals. He's made 736 stops for a save percentage of 92%.

Player Spotlight

Mark Stone has 40 total points this season for the Senators. He has 16 goals this year with 86 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 19%. He has a total of 24 assists on the year and averages 20.3 minutes played per contest. Thomas Chabot averages 24.3 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 10 goals on 98 attempts. He has 27 assists, giving him a total of 37 points on the year. Craig Anderson has 14 wins and 13 losses this season in net for the Senators. He has 1,095 shots against him and he's given up 104 goals. He's made 991 saves for a save percentage of 91%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 49 total points this year, which is 4th in the NHL. They've scored 132 goals while giving up 104 scores, which has them ranked 3rd and 23rd respectively. They have had 115 power play chances and scored 27 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 7th in the league. The Capitals have given up 131 power play opportunities and surrendered 30 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 77%, ranking them 25th when short-handed. They average 30 shots per contest and as a team shoot 12.28% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 9th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Senators are 26th in the league with a total of 34 points this season. They have 25 power play goals on 116 chances for a percentage of 22%. That is 13th in the NHL. They've given up 109 power play opportunities and surrendered 28 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 74%, ranking 30th overall. As a team, the Senators are 12th with a total of 118 goals scored while they've given up 144 goals this season, ranking 2nd in goals against. They average 29 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 10.96%. As a unit they give up 38 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them 24th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington is 22nd in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.8%, as they've attempted 2,057 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,154 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.2% as they have 1,548 attempts while they have given up 1,601 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 20th in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.6% of the time, which is 18th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.4% for the season. That is 14th overall in the NHL. They have 1,018 face-off wins compared to 1,105 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48%. That ranks them 25th in the league. On defense Washington has 796 hits and they have blocked 553 shots from the opposition, putting them 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Senators are 30th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.8% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.2% for the season, which is 2nd in the NHL. They have 1,153 face-off wins compared to 1,149 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.1%. That is 17th in the league. On defense Ottawa has 751 hits and they have blocked 647 shots from the opposition, which is 1st in the league. Ottawa is 31st in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 43.3% as they've attempted 1,926 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,527 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 43.7% ranks 31st as they have 1,457 attempts while they have given up 1,880 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Ottawa +175

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