Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals Predictions, Free NHL Picks 2/20/2020

Game: Montreal Canadiens vs Washington Capitals

Date: Thursday, February 20, 2020

Location: Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.

TV: TSN2/NSWA/RDS

Odds/Point Spread: Canadiens (+166) Capitals (-185)

Total/Over-Under: 6

Ilya Samsonov and the Washington Capitals (37-17-5, 2nd in the Metropolitan Division) host the Montreal Canadiens (27-27-8, 6th in the Atlantic Division) at Capital One Arena on Thursday, February 20, 2020. The Canadiens open this contest at +166 while the Capitals are priced at -185. The O/U is set at 6. The Canadiens are covering 39.7% of the time, having gone 23-35 SU. Washington covers 60.7% of the time, going 34-22 straight up.

The Montreal Canadiens head into this game with a record of 27 wins and 27 losses, which is good for 6th in the Atlantic Division. So far this season, they have earned a total of 183 goals which is good for 10th in the conference and 16th in the league. Their goal differential is -8, which is good for 21st in the league. The Canadiens have compiled a total of 62 pts, which is good for 22nd in the league and 12th in the East. Regarding shots at the opposing goalie, they have compiled a total of 2,113 which is good for 1st in the conference and 1st in the league. As a group, Montreal has a total of 1,554 hits which means they have an average of 25.1 per contest. They have compiled a total of 711 blocks for the year. The man in the crease for Montreal is Carey Price from Farmingville, New York. He is 32 years old and has played a total of 3,020 minutes protecting the net for the season. Price is allowing an average of 2.76 goals per contest which puts him at 16th in the Eastern Conference and 28th in the NHL among goaltenders. During this season, he has surrendered 139 goals. His save % is .910 which puts him at 17th in the Eastern Conference.

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The Montreal Canadiens will be looking to get a win in their next outing after their 4 - 3 defeat to the Detroit Red Wings in their previous game. The Canadiens offense didn't overly impress in this defeat. For this outing, they earned a goal on 3 out of the 22 shots they looked to score on. They also had 3 power play attempts and scored 2 goals out of those tries. Montreal racked up a total of 6 penalty minutes for this matchup. The Corsi for the Canadiens was 44 and the Corsi against was 39 which means they had a Corsi percentage of 53.0%. Their Fenwick was 32 while the Fenwick against was 27, which means they earned a Fenwick percentage of 54.2%. They won 23 face-off wins at even strength and lost 30 of the face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 32.4% and they had a PDO of 86.2 in this game. In discussing stats from the opponent, the Detroit Red Wings racked up 25 shots. They ended the game with 6 penalty mins and they notched 3 power play attempts.

The Capitals are the team looking to add points to their total and for the season they have 37 wins and 17 losses. When it comes to goal differential, they are currently ranked 4th in the conference and 5th in the NHL with +27. They have earned a total of 205 goals for this season which ranks them 3rd in the Eastern Conference. Washington has a save % as a team of .899 which is good for 21st in the NHL, which tells us there could be plenty of chances to score if they are aggressive. They are shooting 10.8% which puts them at 2nd in the conference. In net for Washington is Ilya Samsonov who is having an ok season by allowing 2.38 goals per contest and that has him ranked 6th among Eastern Conference goalies and 9th in the NHL. In the 1,236 minutes he has played, he's allowed 49 goals. He holds a save percentage of .917, which places him at 8th among Eastern Conference goalies and 18th in the NHL.

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The Washington Capitals played the Vegas Golden Knights in a matchup where the Capitals took the defeat by a tally of 3 - 2. For this matchup, Washington had a 57.9% Corsi rating. That percentage was had by having a Corsi of 55 and the other team having a Corsi of 40. Their Fenwick rate was 55.6% by notching a Fenwick of 40 and the Golden Knights having a 32 Fenwick. This Corsi rating is telling of the kind of game that Washington played and it could be said that this team has had better games. Their PDO was 92.0 and they'll go home having earned an oZS percentage of 48.5%. The Capitals netted 2 goals of the 27 shots on goal they pursued. They had 3 power play attempts in this one and were able to convert 1 out of those opportunities. Regarding the opposition, the Golden Knights had 2 power play opportunities but were not able to score a goal. Washington gave up 29 shots on goal and the Golden Knights racked up a total of 6 penalty minutes.

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

Guy's Pick: Take Washington (-185)

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