Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals Prediction, 12/23/2023 NHL Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Tampa Bay Lightning vs Washington Capitals

Date: Saturday, December 23, 2023

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

TV: Monumental Sports Network

Odds/Point Spread: Lightning (-136) Capitals (+112)

The Tampa Bay Lightning (16-13-5) are on their way to Capital One Arena on Saturday where they will meet the Washington Capitals (17-9-4). The line on this contest has the Lightning at -136 while the Capitals are coming in at +112. The total is set at 7.

The Tampa Bay Lightning went home feeling good about their game by earning a 5-4 win over the Golden Knights in their previous outing. The Lightning had a good offensive outing in this victory. While out there on the ice, they were able to notch a goal on 5 out of the 36 shots they looked to score on. In addition, they had 4 power play opportunities and notched 2 goals. Tampa Bay amassed 18 mins in the box for this matchup.

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While at even strength, the Lightning have given up 98 goals while getting 82 on the offensive side of the ice. Tampa Bay Lightning opponents have totaled 102 power play opportunities (16th in professional hockey) and have tallied 21 goals in those chances. In relation to scoring goals, the Tampa Bay Lightning have earned 116 goals (4th in pro hockey) for the season and have allowed 119. Tampa Bay has tried 1,043 shots and has a shooting percentage of 11.1%. For the current season, they have 37 points and their points percentage is sitting at .544. The Lightning so far have had 1,056 shots taken against them and are the owners of a save percentage of .887. Tampa Bay has 110 power play opportunities and they have tallied 34 goals out of those chances, giving them a rate of 30.91%.

The man protecting the net in this game is Andrei Vasilevskiy. Opponents have been able to score 1,085 goals against Vasilevskiy in his pro hockey career and his goals against average per contest is 2.53. Vasilevskiy has been in goal for 437 games during his pro hockey career. His save percentage is .918 in his 25,682 minutes guarding the cage. He has a mark of 270-128-28 and he was named the starter in 427 games. For his career, Vasilevskiy has 243 quality starts and his rate for quality starts is .569. Vasilevskiy has seen 13,259 shots against him and has accrued 12,174 saves.

Their last time out, Washington opposed the Blue Jackets in a game where the Capitals got the victory by a mark of 3-2. The Capitals scored 3 goals of the 32 shots on goal they pursued. They had 3 opportunities on the power play in this one and recorded 2 out of those tries.

For the year, the Washington Capitals have notched a total of 73 goals, 38 points, and a points percentage of .633. They have granted a total of 82 goals to be scored by way of 65 goals at even strength and 17 goals while they were shorthanded. The Capitals have accumulated 62 goals at even strength and 11 goals (31st in the league) while having a power play advantage. They have earned 88 opportunities on the power play and they have a power play rate of 12.50%. Washington has put up 838 shots (32nd in hockey) and has accumulated a shot percentage of 8.71%, while allowing the other team 932 shots. They have a penalty kill percentage of 82.29% on their opponents 96 power play tries, and their save percentage comes in at 91.2%.

Across the ice you are likely to see Darcy Kuemper in net. He has recorded 9,710 stops out of 10,607 shots attempted, which gives him a save percentage of .915. Kuemper has accrued a career mark of 173-127-45 and has participated in 372 games. He was named a starter in 354 games and has played for a total of 21,014 minutes. Kuemper's percentage of quality starts is 55.1% and he has 195 quality starting assignments in his career. The opposition is averaging 2.56 goals/game and he has given up 897 goals in total.

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

Tony's Pick: Take Washington (+112)

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