New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals – 8/16/20 NHL Pick, Odds, and Prediction

The New York Islanders and Washington Capitals meet Sunday in game three of the NHL East First Round at the Scotiabank Arena.

The New York Islanders can all but put this series to bed with a victory here and a 3-0 lead. The New York Islanders are averaging 3.67 goals per game and are scoring on 20 percent of their power play opportunities. Anthony Beauvillier leads New York with four goals, Josh Bailey has six assists and Brock Nelson has 17 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Islanders are allowing 1.83 goals per game and are killing 73.9 percent of their opponents power plays. Semyon Varlamov has given up 11 goals on 154 shots faced.

The Washington Capitals need a victory here in order to have any real hope of winning this series. The Washington Capitals are averaging 1.8 goals per game and are scoring on 15.8 percent of their power play opportunities. TJ Oshie leads Washington with three goals, John Carlson has three assists and Alex Ovechkin has 22 shots on goal. Defensively, the Washington Capitals are allowing three goals per game and are killing 94.1 percent of their opponents power plays. Braden Holtby has given up 14 goals on 138 shots faced.

The Capitals are 10-1 in their last 11 Sunday games, 2-7 in their last 9 games playing on 1 days rest and 1-5 in their last 6 overall. The Islanders are 4-1 in their last 5 Sunday games, 2-5 in their last 7 games playing on 1 days rest and 5-1 in their last 6 overall. The over is 39-19-1 in Capitals last 59 games as a favorite. The over is 4-0-1 in Islanders last 5 overall. The Capitals are 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in New York and 1-4 in the last 5 meetings.

The Washington Capitals have yet to find any consistent offense in the bubble and have now lost five of their last six games. The New York Islanders have quietly been one of the better teams in the playoffs, as they play quality defense, disciplined hockey overall and don’t let go of leads often. We’ve backed the Islanders and the plus money twice in the series and have seen nothing through two games to shy away from that trend. Give me the Islanders to take a commanding 3-0 series lead.