Washington Capitals at Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks & Predictions 5/19/2018

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Amalie Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to Amalie Arena to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, May 19, 2018 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The series is tied 2-2. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at +140 and the Lightning at -160.

Washington had a record of 49-26-7 this year and away from home they had a record of 21-15-5-1. They were 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They tallied 259 goals and surrendered 239 goals for a point differential of +20. For the year they have an ATS mark of 59-38-0 and an over/under record of 53-40-0. Tampa Bay had a regular season record of 54-23-5 including 29-10-2-0 on home ice this year. They were 1st in the Atlantic Division. They scored 296 goals and gave up 236 for a goal differential of +60. Their record against the spread is 63-32-0 while their over/under mark is 55-35-0.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 59-38-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 53-40-0 against the over/under this season

Important Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 63-32-0 straight up this year

The Tampa Bay Lightning are 55-35-0 against the over/under this season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

No key injuries to report

Key Tampa Bay Lightning Injuries

05/07/18 LW Adam Erne Lower Body is out indefinitely

Player Spotlight

Evgeny Kuznetsov has scored 83 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 27 goals this season with 187 shots on net, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 56 assists on the year and averages 18.8 minutes played per contest. Alex Ovechkin averages 20.1 minutes of ice time per game this season. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by tallying 49 goals on 355 attempts. He has 38 assists, giving him a total of 87 points on the year. Braden Holtby has 34 wins and 16 losses this season in goal for the Capitals. He has 1,648 shots against him and he's surrendered 153 goals. He's made 1,495 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Brayden Point has 66 total points this season for the Lightning. He has 32 goals this year with 217 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He has a total of 34 assists on the year and averages 19.6 minutes played per contest. Nikita Kucherov averages 19.8 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 14% by scoring 39 goals on 279 attempts. He has 61 assists, giving him a total of 100 points on the year. Andrei Vasilevskiy has 44 wins and 17 losses this season in net for the Lightning. He has 2,075 shots against him and he's given up 167 goals. He's made 1,908 saves for a save percentage of 92%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals have 105 total points this year, which is 7th in the NHL. They've scored 259 goals while giving up 239 scores, which has them ranked 9th and 17th respectively. They have had 244 power play chances and scored 55 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 23%. That is 7th in the league. The Capitals have given up 269 power play opportunities and surrendered 53 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 80%, ranking them 15th when short-handed. They average 29 shots per contest and as a team shoot 10.89% for the year. They allow 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is 17th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Lightning are 3rd in the league with a total of 113 points this season. They have 66 power play goals on 276 chances for a percentage of 24%. That is 3rd in the NHL. They've given up 267 power play opportunities and surrendered 64 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76%, ranking 28th overall. As a team, the Lightning are 1st with a total of 296 goals scored while they've given up 236 goals this season, ranking 19th in goals against. They average 33 shots per game and have a team shooting percentage of 11.04%. As a unit they give up 33 shots per contest and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them 8th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington has a Corsi percentage of 47.4% as they've tried 4,479 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 4,980 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 31st in Corsi percentage. They are 31st in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 47.3% as they have 3,381 shots while they've given up 3,760 attempts on defense. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 49.7% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 50.3% for the year. That puts them 20th and 15th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 2,467 face-off wins as opposed to 2,427 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 50.4%. That is 18th overall in the NHL. On defense Washington has 1,784 hits and they've blocked 1,220 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 14th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Lightning are 9th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 52.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 47.1% for the season, which is 27th in the NHL. They have 2,441 face-off wins compared to 2,621 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 48.2%. That is 29th in the league. On defense Tampa Bay has 1,728 hits and they have blocked 1,127 shots from the opposition, which is 26th in the league. Tampa Bay is 14th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.3% as they've attempted 4,952 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,709 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 51.2% ranks 14th as they have 3,764 attempts while they have given up 3,582 shots on the defensive end.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington +140

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Tony Sink