NHL Best Bets: Capitals vs. Oilers Game Picks

The Edmonton Oilers look to continue piling on Washington’s struggles when they host the Capitals from Rogers Place tonight.

All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook

Washington Capitals (+132) vs. Edmonton Oilers (-160) Total: 6.5 (O -120, U -102)

This will be the second and final regular-season meeting between these two teams, which saw the Capitals pick up a 5-4 victory on November 7. However, the Capitals are struggling, posting a 3-5-2 record over their past ten games, while the Oilers are 6-4 over that same sample size. It’s not often you’ve seen the Capitals listed at under .500 in December, so this could signal the team finally hitting its end as a playoff team. Even though they’ve dealt with many injuries, their current position is not something many would have expected.

On the other hand, the Oilers are slowly but surely starting to play better consistently. They’re coming off a 5-3 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday and will look to string together wins. With the Capitals’ injuries, goal scoring has been a significant issue, which has them 27th in the NHL compared to ninth for the Oilers. 

Looking at the projected goalie matchup, the visiting Capitals should lean toward Charlie Lindgren, while the Oilers should start Stuart Skinner. The Capitals netminder has a 2-3-2 record with a .890 save percentage, while Skinner is 7-5 with a .914 save percentage. It’s hard to be confident in either, but there’s more to like with Skinner.

It’s difficult to look toward the Capitals, even though they defeated the Oilers under a month ago. Things have changed since that point, and the Oilers are finding more success, so it’s hard to pass up their moneyline price of -160.

Best Bet: Oilers moneyline (-160) 

Over the Capitals’ last five games, one has seen seven or more goals scored, while the Oilers have seen all of their previous five go over that number. With the Capitals likely leaning on their backup netminder, it’s hard to look away from the over at -120. The total for this matchup is set at 6.5, and the Capitals will be in tough to keep pucks out of their net,

Best Bet: Over 6.5 (-120) 

It’s not a stretch to say the Edmonton Oilers go as their superstars go. Connor McDavid is a big reason for their recent stretch of great play. McDavid has five goals and seven assists over his last five games. The Caps’ goaltending has done a solid job of staying in games, but with a team like the Oilers, that could change. With McDavid hovering at -104 to score, it’s a number that should be difficult to pass up.

Best Prop: Connor McDavid to Record Over 0.5 Goals (-104)