Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning Predictions, NHL Picks, Betting Tips 8/3/2020

Game: Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Date: Monday, August 3, 2020

Location: Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON

TV: NBCSN

Odds/Point Spread: Capitals (+115) Lightning (-125)

Total/Over-Under: 6.5

Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals (41-20-8, 1st in the Metropolitan Division) are headed to Scotiabank Arena on Monday where they'll meet the Tampa Bay Lightning (43-21-6, 2nd in the Atlantic Division). The Lightning open this contest at -125 while the Capitals are priced at +115. The over/under has been set at 6.5. The Capitals cover 56.9% of the time, having gone 37-28 SU. The Lightning cover 60.3% of the time, going 41-27 straight up.

The Washington Capitals head into this matchup holding a record of 41 victories and 20 defeats, putting them at 1st in the Metropolitan Division. So far this season, they have earned a total of 236 goals which has them at 3rd in the Eastern Conference and 3rd in the league. Their goal differential is +24, putting them at 7th in the league. The Capitals currently have a total of 90 pts, which has them at 5th in the league and 3rd in the conference. Regarding shots at the opposition, they currently have a total of 2,206 which has them at 7th in the Eastern Conference and 15th in the league. As a unit, Washington has collected a total of 1,606 hits which has them averaging 23.3 per game. They currently have a total of 754 blocks for the year. The man protecting the net for Washington is Braden Holtby from Lloydminster, Saskatchewan. He is 30 years old and has totaled 2,743 mins minding the goal this year. Holtby is giving up an average of 3.11 goals per contest which has him sitting 25th among Eastern Conference goaltenders and 53rd in the NHL. During this season, he has given up 142 goals. His save % is .897 which has him sitting 30th among Eastern Conference goaltenders.

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The Washington Capitals will need a bounce back game after taking a 3 - 2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres in their previous contest. The Capitals didn't have a great showing offensively in this loss. In their game, they netted 2 out of the 35 shots they tried. Additionally, they had 1 power play chance but didn't get a goal. Washington had a total of 6 penalty minutes in this game. The Corsi for the Capitals sat at 52 and the Corsi against was 36 which gave them a Corsi percentage of 59.1%. Their Fenwick was 41 and the Fenwick against sat at 27, which tells us they had a Fenwick percentage of 60.3%. They won 25 face-off wins at even strength and lost 30 of the face-offs. Their starts in the offensive zone were rated at 61.4% and they had a PDO of 101.3 for this game. Regarding their opponent, the Buffalo Sabres racked up a total of 26 shots. They finished with a total of 2 penalty minutes and they earned 3 power play opportunities.

The Lightning are the team looking to add points to their total and for the year they have 43 victories and 21 losses. In terms of goal differential, they are ranked 2nd in the conference and 2nd in the league with +49. They have earned a total of 243 goals for this season which ranks them 1st in the East. Tampa Bay has a team save percentage of .910 which is good for 9th in the league, which means there should be some opportunities to score. They have a shooting percentage of 11.2% putting them at 1st in the conference. In net for Tampa Bay is Andrei Vasilevskiy who is having an ok season by surrendering 2.56 GAA and that has him ranked 9th among Eastern Conference goalies and 14th in the NHL among goalies. In the 3,122 mins he has played this year, he's allowed 133 goals. He holds a save percentage of .917, which has him placed 7th among Eastern Conference goalies and 18th in the NHL among goalies.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning went up against the Toronto Maple Leafs in a matchup where the Lightning took the loss by a score of 2 - 1. In this matchup, Tampa Bay had a 49.5% Corsi rating. They ended up with that by earning a Corsi of 49 while the opposition had a Corsi of 50. Their Fenwick rate was 46.1% by notching a Fenwick of 35 and the Maple Leafs ending the game with a 41 Fenwick at even strength. This Corsi rating tells us the kind of game Tampa Bay had and it tells us that they didn't have their best game. Their PDO was 104.3 and their oZS percentage was 33.3%. The Lightning converted 1 goal of the 33 shots on goal they attempted. They had 4 power play chances in this one but weren't able to put one in the back of the net. On the other side of the ice, the Maple Leafs had 5 power play opportunities and ended up scoring 2 goals. Tampa Bay conceded 36 shots on goal and the Maple Leafs earned a total of 8 penalty minutes.

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

Josh's Pick: Take Washington (+115)

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