The Washington Capitals take on the New York Islanders for the sixth time this season in a battle of top teams with identical records. It’s the first of a three-game series, with the Capitals having won three of the five meetings so far this year.
- Date/Time: April 22, 7 p.m. ET
- Arena: Nassau Coliseum
- TV Coverage: NSWA
- Sportsbook Odds: Islanders -115 | O/U 5.5 (Line History)
- Capitals vs Islanders Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
The game opened with the Islanders as favorites at -115 and the line can now be found between -112 and -120 depending on the sportsbook. The total opened at 5.5 and is locked in at that number with the OVER favored in the -110 to -116 range at most books.
Washington News & Notes
The Capitals sit atop the East Division, tied with the Islanders, and head into the playoffs as one of the league’s best teams.
Led by the ageless Alex Ovechkin, the Caps are among the top-scoring teams in the NHL. Ovechkin leads the team with 24 goals and is on a point-per-game pace with 42 in 42 games. Only longtime linemate Nicklas Backstrom has more points for the team with 47 in 46 games.
Overall, no team has more goals at even strength than Washington, which has been extremely efficient with its scoring, evident in its ranking outside the top 20 in overall scoring chances and high-danger chances.
On the defensive end, the Caps could be playing short-handed on Thursday as a couple of starters are dealing with injuries. Zdeno Chara and Justin Schultz are questionable for the game with foot and lower-body injuries, respectively.
New York News & Notes
The Islanders have scored 30 fewer goals than the Capitals, but their underlying numbers are much better, particularly defensively.
Only four teams have allowed fewer goals at even strength and the Islanders also rank ninth in expected goals against and have allowed the fourth-fewest high-danger chances this season.
Offensively, the Isles aren’t too shabby either. New York ranks sixth in the league in even-strength goals and is also sixth in expected goals at evens.
Where the Islanders really separate themselves from the rival Capitals is in the crease. While the Caps have young, inexperienced netminders who have had uneven seasons, the Islanders have two stellar goalies who have had big campaigns. Semyon Varlamov is fifth in the league in save percentage (.923) among goalies who have played at least 25 games while budding star Ilya Sorokin is 12-4-1 with a .922 save percentage.
Betting Pick: Islanders -120
With similar odds on either team, we’re taking the home team to even out the season series. The Isles also happen to have the advantage in net and in the underlying numbers. It’s just a matter of whether they can stop the elite scorers on the Caps.
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Buy Sports Picks Now- The total has gone UNDER in 7 of New York’s last 9 games.
- The total has gone OVER in Washington’s last 7 games.
- New York is 3-6 SU in its last 9 at home vs Washington.
