Washington Capitals vs Tampa Bay Lightning NHL Picks, Odds, Predictions 10/16/2021
Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1) vs. Washington Capitals (1-0)
October 16, 2021 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Washington Capitals -110 / Tampa Bay Lightning -110; Over/Under: 5.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals meet in NHL action from the Capital One Arena on Saturday.
The Tampa Bay Lightning will be out to build off of a 7-6 thriller win over the Detroit Red Wings last time out. Detroit opened the scoring with six minutes to go in the opening period and doubled their lead just :18 into the second period. The Red Wings made it 3-0 at the 7:52 mark of the second, but Ondrej Palat got the Bolts on the board just :16 later. Detroit restored the three-goal lead 4:21 after that before Steven Stamkos scored a pair of power play goals 1:12 apart to make it a 4-3 game heading into the 3rd. Detroit potted a pair of goals 2:31 apart early in the 3rd to make it 6-3, but Ross Colton, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn all scored in a span of 3:58, tying the game at 6-6 and forcing OT where Ondrej Palat found the winner 2:43 into the extra frame. Andrei Vasilevskiy got the win after allowing ssix goals on 26 shots faced in the victory.
The Washington Capitals come into this one looking to keep the momentum going after a 5-1 win over the Rangers in their season opener. TJ Oshie opened the scoring for Washington just 4:39 into the game before Justin Schultz and Hendrix Lapierre pushed the lead to 3-0 with a pair of goals :24 apart just aver the midway point of the second period. Alex Ovechkin made it 4-0 with a power play goal 2:37 into the 3rd before New York finally got on the board just past the nine minute mark of the 3rd. Ovechkin would cancel that one out and restore the four-goal lead with another PP tally with just under eight minutes to go, giving Washington a 5-1 lead they’d ride to the finish. Vitek Vanecek got the win after stopping 23 of 24 shots faced in the victory.
Tampa Bay is 97-45 in their last 142 games overall and 89-41 in their last 130 games as a favorite while the over is 2-0-2 in their last 4 Saturday games. Washington is 102-41 in their last 143 games against the Atlantic division and 20-9 in their last 29 games following a win while the under is 5-1-2 in their last 8 home games.
Man this is a tough call, but I’m going to side with the Capitals here. I haven’t liked what I’ve seen from the Lightning in the first two games of their title defense, starting with the beatdown at the hands of Pittsburgh and then allowing 6 goals against Detroit in a game the Lightning should’ve lost in my opinion, but that’s the way she goes. I just think that Washington is ready for what the Bolts bring to the table and at home, get the edge in this one.
