Washington Capitals vs. New Jersey Devils - 12/20/19 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Washington Capitals vs New Jersey Devils

Date: Friday, December 20, 2019

Location: Prudential Center in Newark, NJ

TV: MSG+/NSWA

Odds/Point Spread: Capitals (-160) Devils (+144)

Total/Over-Under: 6

MacKenzie Blackwood and the New Jersey Devils (11-17-5, 8th in the Metropolitan Division) host the Washington Capitals (24-6-5, 1st in the Metropolitan Division) at Prudential Center on Friday, December 20, 2019. The Capitals open this matchup at -160 while the Devils are coming in at +144. The total has been set at 6. The Capitals are covering 65.6% of the time, having gone 21-11 SU. New Jersey covers 31.3% of the time, going 10-22 straight up.

The Washington Capitals head into this game holding a record of 24 wins and 6 defeats, which puts them at 1st in the Metropolitan Division. So far this season, they have scored a total of 122 goals which has them sitting at 1st in the conference and 2nd in the league. Their goal differential is +24, which puts them at 3rd in the league. The Capitals have compiled a total of 53 pts, which has them sitting at 1st in the league and 1st in the Eastern Conference. When it comes to shots at the opposing goalie, they have compiled a total of 1,098 which has them sitting at 8th in the Eastern Conference and 14th in the league. As a group, Washington has compiled a total of 800 hits which has them averaging 22.9 per game. They have compiled a total of 403 blocks for the year. In net for Washington is Braden Holtby from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He is 30 years old and has played a total of 1,467 minutes defending the goal this season. Holtby is surrendering an average of 2.82 goals against average which has him sitting 16th among East goaltenders and 30th among goaltenders in the NHL. For the season, he has allowed 69 goals. His save percentage is .909 which has him sitting 16th among East goaltenders.

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The Washington Capitals were on the losing side of the ice with a 3 - 0 defeat against the Columbus Blue Jackets their last time out. The Capitals had an offensive game that was below their expectations in this loss. While out there on the ice, they scored on 0 out of the 30 shots they tried. Moreover, they had 4 power play attempts but didn't net one. Washington ended up with 11 penalty minutes in their game. The Corsi for the Capitals was 51 and the Corsi against was 31 telling us they have a Corsi percentage of 62.2%. Their Fenwick sat at 39 and the Fenwick against at even strength was 28, which gave them a Fenwick percentage of 58.2%. They took 26 face-off wins at even strength and lost 27 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them came in at 60.0% and they had a PDO of 85.0 for this game. Regarding their opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets tallied 21 shots. They finished with a total of 25 penalty minutes and they notched 2 power play attempts.

The Devils will be on the other side of the ice and for the current year they sit with 11 victories and 17 defeats. In connection with goal differential, they rank 15th in the Eastern Conference and 30th in the league with -33. They have earned a total of 79 goals for the year which ranks 16th in the East. New Jersey has a team save percentage of .890 which has them 28th in the league, which means scoring chances could be plentiful if they attack the goal. They have a team shooting percentage of 7.8% which puts them at 15th in the conference. In net for New Jersey is MacKenzie Blackwood who is having an average year by giving up 2.77 goals per contest and that has him ranked 15th among East goaltenders and 27th in the NHL among goalies. In the 1,408 minutes he has been on the ice this season, he has allowed 65 goals. He holds a save percentage of .910, which has him ranked 15th among East goaltenders and 31st in the NHL among goalies.

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The New Jersey Devils played the Anaheim Ducks in a game where the Devils notched a victory by a score of 3 - 1. For this game, New Jersey earned a 42.7% Corsi rating. They wound up with that percentage by having a Corsi of 35 and the other team having a Corsi of 47. They earned a Fenwick percentage of 43.3% by notching a Fenwick of 26 and the Ducks earning a 34 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi stats speak to the kind of game that New Jersey played and you can say they had a mediocre outing. They had a PDO at even strength of 107.6 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 47.4%. The Devils scored 3 goals out of the 20 shots on goal they took. They had 4 power play chances in this one and were able to convert 1 out of those opportunities. Concerning the opposition, the Ducks had 2 power play chances but didn't put the puck in goal. New Jersey allowed 27 shots on goal and the Ducks ended up with a total of 13 penalty minutes.

Who will win tonight's hockey game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Washington (-160)

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