NHL Pick: Washington Capitals at San Jose Sharks
Overview
The Washington Capitals take a trip over to the west coast where they take on the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks have absolutely owned the Capitals over the past decade and a half winning 18 of the last 20 meetings overall since 1999 and the Capitals have just 1 win lifetime in San Jose.
Head to Head Trends
Capitals are 2-18 in the last 20 meetings.
Capitals are 1-9 in the last 10 meetings in San Jose.
San Jose Sharks (-110)
The San Jose Sharks are 3rd in the Pacific Division with 63 points 12 points back of the 1st place Anaheim Ducks. The Sharks have struggled at times this season but they have also had stretches of great play like back in December when they won 9 of 10 games. The Sharks are just 1-4 over their last 5 games and have not looked very good especially on defense allowing 18 goals over that period. The Sharks are about average on offense scoring 2.8 goals per game but they also allow 2.8 goals per game on defense so I guess that explains their 28-27 record.
San Jose Sharks Trends
Sharks are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
Sharks are 104-51 in their last 155 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
Washington Capitals (+100)
The Washington Capitals are 4th in the Metropolitan Division with 66 points just 5 points behind the 1st place New York Islanders. The Capitals were one of the hottest teams in the league from about the start of December to the middle of January winning 14 of 19 games with 4 of those losses coming in overtime so they failed to pick up at least a single point in just 1 of those games. The Capitals have cooled off since that hot stretch winning just 4 of their 11 games since but they have won 3 of their last 4 so maybe they’re starting to heat up again. The Capitals are solid on offense averaging 2.9 goals per game and they also play a pretty tight defensive game allowing just 2.5 goals per game.
Washington Capitals Trends
Capitals are 1-5 in their last 6 road games.
Capitals are 2-7 in their last 9 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.
Conclusion
I like the San Jose Sharks over the Capitals in this one. I seem to always like a small home favorite so getting the Sharks at -110 is pretty good plus the Capitals have had a super hard time beat the Sharks winning just 2 of the last 20 meetings so lets hope that trend continues tonight.
Free Pick: San Jose Sharks -110