NHL Hockey Betting: Washington Capitals at Edmonton Oilers
Big test for the Edmonton Oilers as they host last year’s President Cup champions the Washington Capitals. The Oilers are off to a sizzling start with a 5-1-0 record and 10 points giving them the best record in the Western Conference and the second best record in the league. Everyone knows that Edmonton can score goals and they’re currently tied with Montreal for the league lead at 3.83 per game. What’s been most impressive, however, has been the goaltending of Cam Talbot who was named the league’s ‘First Star’ last week after allowing 1 goal in 3 games with a pair of shutouts. That performance put the Oilers into a tie for the #10 scoring defense with the New York Rangers. The Oilers still give up too many shots on goal (33.2) but there’s definitely been some progress.
Talbot will get the start for the Oilers (he’s started every game for Edmonton) against the Capitals’ Braden Holtby. Holtby is off to a solid start again this year with a 2-1-1 record, a 1.98 goals against average and a 0.924 save percentage. The Caps haven’t played since Saturday night when they lost 4-2 at home to the New York Rangers which could mean that they’ll be rested but also means they could be a bit rusty. Washington’s offense has been somewhat stagnant in the early going (tied for #24 with Los Angeles at 2.60 goals per game)but they’ve been playing good defense and are tied for #2 in scoring defense allowing just 1.80 goals per game.
The Caps won both meetings last year taking a 7-4 decision at Northlands on 10/23/15 and a 1-0 victory at home on 11/23/15. The Oilers have actually dominated the Capitals on home ice winning 9 of the last 12 meetings. This is a litmus test for Edmonton and their team speed is almost impossible for any team in the league to match. The Capitals have been excellent coming off a loss of 2 or more goals (20-7 +11 units L3 years) but the Oilers have made money against the Eastern Conference (33-33 +8.2 L3 years). Considering how bad Edmonton has been in the past few years that profit in non-conference games is impressive. We’ll take a shot on the Oilers getting plus money on home ice.
BET EDMONTON OILERS +115 OVER WASHINGTON CAPITALS
