Overview
The Washington Capitals visit the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa tonight where they take on the Senators. The Senators have played the Capitals surprisingly well over the past few seasons winning 8 of the last 12 meetings overall and 5 of the last 6 played at home in Ottawa.
Head to Head Trends
Capitals are 1-5 in the last 6 meetings in Ottawa.
Home team is 22-7 in the last 29 meetings.
The Ottawa Senators are 5th in the Atlantic Division with 76 points 13 points back of the 1st place Florida Panthers and 7 points back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the East so with just 9 games remaining they would probably have to win all 9 just to have a chance at a playoff spot.
The Senators have one of the better offenses in the league averaging 2.81 goals per game but they have struggled on defense all season allowing and 2.97 goals per game. At home the Senators offense is the same at 2.81 goals per game but their defense is much much better allowing just 2.46 goals per game.
Ottawa Senators Trends
Senators are 4-0 in their last 4 home games vs. a team with a road winning % of greater than .600.
Senators are 2-9 in their last 11 vs. Metropolitan.
Washington Capitals (-150)
The Washington Capitals are 1st in the Metropolitan Division with 107 points which is also good for the best record overall. The Capitals have played well all season they haven’t had any slumps, they actually haven’t lost back to back games in regulation all season long which is impressive.
The Capitals have lost 3 of their last 5 games and have just 1 regulation win in their last 8 games so this is the worst they have played all season. Maybe this just a little glitch or maybe this is the start of their slump that they have managed to avoid all season but with the luck factor being such a large part of hockey it’s hard to go a full season without at least a minor slump where the bounces just don’t go your way for a few games.
Washington Capitals Trends
Capitals are 41-17 in their last 58 vs. a team with a losing record.
Capitals are 38-16 in their last 54 vs. Atlantic.
Conclusion
I like the Ottawa Senators over the Capitals in this one. The Senators seem to be playing better of late plus they tend to play well at home in general so I think this is a good spot for a nice home underdog.
Free Pick: Ottawa Senators +140
