Washington Capitals vs. Carolina Hurricanes - 1/3/20 NHL Picks, Odds, and Prediction

Game: Washington Capitals vs Carolina Hurricanes

Date: Friday, January 3, 2020

Location: PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC

TV: NSW+

Odds/Point Spread: Capitals (+109) Hurricanes (-120)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Petr Mrazek and the Carolina Hurricanes (24-14-2, 4th in the Metropolitan Division) host the Washington Capitals (27-9-5, 1st in the Metropolitan Division) at PNC Arena on Friday, January 3, 2020. The line on this game has the Capitals coming in at +109 and the Hurricanes are at -120. The total has been set at 6. The Capitals cover 63.2% of the time, having gone 24-14 SU. Carolina is covering 57.9% of the time, going 22-16 straight up.

The Washington Capitals come into this matchup holding a record of 27 wins and 9 defeats, which puts them at 1st in the Metropolitan Division. During the season thus far, they have earned a total of 143 goals which has them sitting at 2nd in the East and 3rd in the league. Their goal differential is +23, which puts them at 5th in the league. The Capitals currently have a total of 59 points, which has them sitting at 1st in the league and 1st in the East. When looking at shots at the opposing goalie, they currently have a total of 1,308 which has them sitting at 5th in the conference and 9th in the league. As a group, Washington has collected a total of 940 hits which has them averaging 22.9 per contest. They currently have a total of 455 blocks for this season. The man between the pipes for Washington is Braden Holtby from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He is 30 years old and has racked up 1,665 minutes minding the net for the season. Holtby is conceding an average of 2.99 GAA which has him ranked 18th among East goalies and 38th among goaltenders in the NHL. Over the course of this season, he's given up 83 goals. His save % is .902 which has him ranked 22nd among East goalies.

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The Washington Capitals will look to clean up some issues after taking a 4 - 3 defeat against the New York Islanders in their previous contest. The Capitals had an average offensive output in this loss. In this outing, they netted 3 out of the 39 shots they put on goal. Additionally, they had 2 power play opportunities but didn't get a goal. Washington ended up with a total of 6 penalty mins for this game. The Corsi for the Capitals was 75 and the Corsi against was 40 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 65.2%. Their Fenwick was 50 and the Fenwick against sat at 28, which means they earned a Fenwick percentage of 64.1%. They won 26 face-off wins and lost 17 tries to control the puck. The offensive zone starts for them were rated at 63.9% and they had a PDO of 90.0 for this game. Regarding their opponent, the New York Islanders put up 22 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty minutes and they had 2 power play opportunities.

The Hurricanes will be on the other side of the ice and for the season they sit with 24 wins and 14 defeats. Regarding goal differential, they are sitting 4th in the Eastern Conference and 6th in the league with +22. They have a total of 134 goals for the season which has them sitting at 7th in the conference. Carolina has a team save percentage of .903 which currently has them ranked 16th in the league, meaning scoring chances could present themselves. They have a team shooting percentage of 9.8% ranking them 9th in the Eastern Conference. In goal for Carolina is Petr Mrazek who is having an ok season by giving up 2.67 goals per contest and that ranks him 11th in the East and 19th in the NHL. In the 1,528 minutes he has played this year, he has surrendered 68 goals. His save % is .903, which has him ranking 21st in the East and 42nd in the NHL.

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The Carolina Hurricanes went up against the Montreal Canadiens in a game where the Hurricanes notched a victory by a score of 3 - 1. In this game, Carolina had a 50.5% Corsi rating. They got to that percentage by earning a Corsi of 55 while the opposition had a Corsi of 54. Their Fenwick rate was 51.7% with a Fenwick of 45 and the Canadiens having a 42 Fenwick at even strength. These Corsi statistics are telling of the type of game that Carolina played and we'd say they played an average game. They had a PDO at even strength of 103.2 and they finished the game with an oZS percentage of 64.4%. The Hurricanes notched 3 goals out of the 36 shots on goal they pursued. They had 2 power play opportunities in this game and scored 1 out of those tries. As for their opponent, the Canadiens had 3 power play chances but were not able to notch a goal. Carolina gave way to 30 shots on goal and the Canadiens racked up 4 minutes in the box.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington (+109)

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