Washington Capitals vs St. Louis Blues Expert NHL Picks 10/2/2019

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

Enterprise Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Washington Capitals head to Enterprise Center to take on the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, October 2, 2019. The opening line for this contest has the Capitals at +151 and the Blues at +149.

Washington had a record of 48-26-8 last year and away from home they had a record of 24-15-2-0. They were 1st in the Metropolitan Division. They tallied 274 goals and surrendered 248 goals for a point differential of +26. For the year they had an ATS mark of 44-33 and an over/under record of 41-38-3. St. Louis finished with a record of 45-28-9 including 12-9-5-1 on home ice last year. They were 3rd in the Central Division. They scored 244 goals and gave up 220 for a goal differential of +24. Their record against the spread was 42-37 while their over/under mark was 34-44-4.

Valuable Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals were 44-33 straight up last year

The Washington Capitals were 41-38-3 against the over/under last season

Important St. Louis Blues Betting Trends

The St. Louis Blues were 42-37 straight up last year

The St. Louis Blues were 34-44-4 against the over/under last season

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

9/28/2019 Liam O'Brien C Upper Body Day-to-Day
9/14/2019 Evgeny Kuznetsov C Suspension Expected to be out until at least Oct 8
9/10/2019 Michal Kempny D Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Oct 2

Key St. Louis Blues Injuries

9/27/2019 Jordan Kyrou C Kneecap Expected to be out until at least Sep 29
9/13/2019 Erik Foley LW Concussion IR. Expected to be out until at least Oct 2

Player Spotlight

Alex Ovechkin scored 89 total points last year for the Capitals. He had 51 goals last season with 338 shots on net giving him a shooting percentage of 15%. He had a total of 38 assists on the year and averaged 20.9 minutes played per contest. Nicklas Backstrom averaged 20 minutes of ice time per game last season. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 13% by tallying 22 goals on 169 attempts. He had 52 assists giving him a total of 74 points on the year. Braden Holtby had 32 wins and 19 losses last season in goal for the Capitals. He had 1,795 shots against him and he surrendered 160 goals. He made 1,635 stops for a save percentage of 91%.

Player Spotlight

Jaden Schwartz had 36 total points last season for the Blues. He had 11 goals last year with 183 shots on goal giving him a shooting percentage of 6%. He had a total of 25 assists on the year and averaged 18.1 minutes played per contest. Vladimir Tarasenko averaged 18.4 minutes of ice time per contest. In that time he had a shooting percentage of 12% by scoring 33 goals on 275 attempts. He had 35 assists giving him a total of 68 points on the year. Jordan Binnington had 24 wins and 5 losses last season in net for the Blues. He had 807 shots against him and he gave up 59 goals. He made 748 saves for a save percentage of 93%.

Useful Team Statistics

The Capitals had 104 total points last year, which was 4th in the NHL. They scored 274 goals while giving up 248 scores, which had them ranked 5th and 13th respectively. They had 236 power play chances and scored 49 goals on those opportunities for a percentage of 21%. That was 12th in the league. The Capitals gave up 261 power play opportunities and surrendered 55 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, ranking them 24th when short-handed. They averaged 30 shots per contest and as a team shot 11.00% for the year. They allowed 32 shot attempts to their opposition per game and had a team save percentage of 90%, which was 17th in the league.

Useful Team Statistics

The Blues were 12th in the league with a total of 99 points last season. They had 50 power play goals on 237 chances for a percentage of 21%. That was 10th in the NHL. They gave up 232 power play opportunities and surrendered 43 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, ranking 9th overall. As a team, the Blues were 15th with a total of 244 goals scored while they gave up 220 goals last season, ranking 26th in goals against. They averaged 32 shots per game and had a team shooting percentage of 9.37%. As a unit they gave up 29 shots per contest and had a save percentage of 91%, putting them 14th overall in the NHL.

Advanced Statistics

Washington is 20th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.9%, as they've attempted 4,662 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,875 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage is 49.5% as they have 3,566 attempts while they have given up 3,641 shots on the defensive end. That ranks them 19th in the league. The Capitals start possessions in the offensive zone 51.4% of the time, which is 14th in the league, while their defensive zone percentage is at 48.6% for the season. That is 17th overall in the NHL. They have 2,160 face-off wins compared to 2,563 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 45.7%. That ranks them 31st in the league. On defense Washington has 1,885 hits and they have blocked 1,234 shots from the opposition, putting them 7th overall.

Advanced Statistics

The Blues 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 19th in the NHL. They have 2,450 face-off wins compared to 2,317 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.4%. That is 6th in the league. On defense St. Louis has 1,615 hits and they have blocked 1,138 shots from the opposition, which is 19th in the league. St. Louis is 9th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 51.7% as they've attempted 4,684 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 4,384 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 52.1% ranks 7th as they have 3,530 attempts while they have given up 3,246 shots on the defensive end.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Washington +151

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