NHL Sunday May 23rd Bruins at Capitals Game 5 Betting Preview
Boston Goes for the Close Out
Washington will be fighting for their life heading into the Bruins at Capitals game 5 meeting. Washington is down 3-1, back on their home ice trying to stave off elimination. The Caps’ did pick up a 3-2 OT win in game one – and went to OT in games two and three – but looked overmatched in a 4-1 loss on Friday night.
The Bruins are in a great spot with the chance to wrap things up early in the division semifinals while waiting for either Pittsburgh or the Islanders who are locked in a 2-2 tie. Boston has rattled off three straight wins, and have found their offense scoring 11 goals over that span. As a result, the Bruins are -135 on the road in this spot.
Bruins Taking Advantage
Three of the four games in this series have needed extra time to decide, which is somewhat surprising as the Bruins look like the better team on the ice. Boston has a noticeable speed advantage, and have made the most of penalties, scoring three PP goals on Friday night.
Brad Marchand kicked off the scoring with a PP goal in game four, his third of the series. David Pastrnak also got on board with one of the scores with a man advantage, tallying his first goal of the series. Charlie McAvoy has also been huge with 5 helpers, and Boston continues to fire at whoever is in net for the Capitals, shooting 48, 43, and 37 times in the last three games.
Tuukka Rask had his easiest game of the series in net last time out, having to face just 20 shots from the Capitals. He has allowed six scores over the last three games, but the Caps’ had been shooting pretty frequently as well, with Rask facing 96 SOG over that span – so that’s a pretty solid .938 save percentage.
All on the Line for Caps
A team can get pretty dangerous in these do or die situations, which Washington finds themselves in for the Bruins at Capitals game 5 contest. The Capitals have won 6 of their last 7 Sunday games, and despite dropping game 2 at home, Washington has beaten Boston 12 of the last 16 meetings at Capital One Arena.
Alex Ovechkin tallied his 2nd goal of the series on Friday night, but he’s not getting a ton of help from his teammates. Garnet Hathaway had two scores in the game two loss, and along with T.J. Oshie and Nic Dowd are the only other Washington players besides Ovechkin to find the back of the net the last three games.
The Capitals also became just the 2nd team in league history to start three different goaltenders in the first three games of a playoff series. Vitek Vanecek was injured in game one and Craig Anderson took the reins in game two while Ilya Samsonov waited to come back from COVID protocols. Samsonov has now started the last two, but has allowed 7 scores – albeit on 80 SOG (.912 SV%).
Free Bruins at Capitals Game 5 Pick
The big question heading into Sunday night’s game is if Friday’s matchup was an anomaly or a sign of the end for the Caps? The teams had played each other very close the first three games, but Boston tallied a 4-1 blowout last time out. Washington is in survival mode, and has fared well vs. the Bruins at home recently. With the season on the line, that’s the play.
Capitals 4 – Bruins 2
Free Pick: Capitals +115
