NHL Betting Picks, Odds, And Preview: Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers

The Washington Capitals must pick up themselves right away and not dwell on the 5-2 loss against the Philadelphia Flyers as they scheduled to fly to the Big Apple immediately to battle against the New York Rangers on Thursday for the second night of a back-to-back which will begin a three-game road trip. The Capitals managed to keep their grasp on the top spot in the Metropolitan Division but the danger of conceding their position is magnified anew as the Flyers trail by just a hairline in points after their masterful showing on Wednesday.

Washington Capitals

It has been a see-saw progression for the Washington Capitals in their struggle to seal the top spot in the Metropolitan. After squandering an early upper hand, the Capitals went on a salvo to take the division supremacy back. But a 4-7-1 tally over their last 12 games, where they accounted for just 2.5 goals per night, has put them back at the edge of getting surpassed as the Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins are closely lurking behind. Skipper Alex Ovechkin, who has 45 goals, was held scoreless in the loss to Philadelphia, denying him to inch closer, or even move past David Pastrnak and Auston Matthews to become the NHL’s top goal-scorer of the season.

New York Rangers

Tuesday’s 3-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champions St. Louis Blues pushed the Rangers down to four points out of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. But it’s not yet the end of the road for New York as they can still pick up their bearings to pull off a late push for a postseason berth. They will have to lick their wounds as they face the East powerhouse Washington whom they actually trounced early into the season with a 7-0 victory in November that snapped a previous seven-game losing skid against the Capitals.

Odds and Trends

Now faced with another challenge on the road where they have lost five straight, the Capitals will play the home spoilers role and try to break out of the slump by conforming to the -140 road favorites tag by the updated NHL Odds as the Rangers are offered at +120 as underdogs inside the MSG.

The Capitals are 6-2 in their last 8 games playing on 0 days rest and 11-5 in their last 16 Thursday games.

The Rangers are 4-0 in their last 4 Thursday games and 13-5 in their last 18 vs. Metropolitan.

Over is 8-1-1 in Capitals last 10 vs. Eastern Conference and 5-0 in Rangers last 5 vs. Eastern Conference.

Under is 5-1 in Capitals last 6 road games and 5-1 in Rangers last 6 home games.

Prediction

Capitals win, 4-3