The St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals meet in NHL action from the Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Two teams struggling to find consistency, who comes out on top? Let’s dive in and find out with our Blues vs. Capitals Prediction.
St. Louis Blues Team Preview
The St. Louis Blues come into this one looking to snap a two-game losing streak after a 4-2 loss at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers last time out. Robert Thomas leads the Blues in scoring with 44 points including team-highs of 16 goals and 28 assists while Pavel Buchnevich has 32 points split between 13 goals and 19 assists. Jordan Kyrou has 32 points with 12 goals and 20 assists while Kevin Hayes has 20 points with 10 goals and 10 assists as well this season. Jordan Binnington’s gone 14-11-2 with a 3.04 GAA and a .906 save percentage between the pipes for St. Louis while Joel Hofer is 7-8 with a 2.88 GAA and a .910 save percentage this season.
St. Louis Blues Team Facts
- The Blues have won each of their last four games as underdogs against the Capitals.
- The Blues have covered the puck line in each of their last 12 Thursday games as underdogs.
- The Blues have won the second period in each of their last four games at Capital One Arena.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 2′ market has hit in each of the Blues’ last eight games at Capital One Arena.
Washington Capitals Team Preview
The Washington Capitals come into this game looking to build on a 2-0 win over Anaheim in their last matchup. Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals in scoring with 27 points including 8 goals and 19 assists while Tom Wilson has 20 points with 12 goals and 8 assists. John Carlson has 24 points with a team-high 21 assists and Dylan Strome has 26 points with a team-high 15 goals for the Capitals. In goal for Washington, Darcy Kuemper has gone 11-10-2 with a 3.13 GAA and an .895 save percentage while Charlie Lindgren is 8-4-3 with a 2.24 GAA and a .929 save percentage and Hunter Shepard is 2-1-1 with a 3.19 GAA and an .894 save percentage this season.
Washington Capitals Team Facts
- The Capitals have won each of their last eight games as home favorites.
- The Capitals have failed to cover the puck line in nine of their last 10 games as home favorites following a win.
- The Capitals have lost the first period in nine of their last 10 home games following a home win.
- The ‘Over 1.5 Goals Period 3′ market has hit in each of the Capitals’ last nine games as favorites against opponents on a losing streak.
Blues vs. Capitals Prediction
I’m on the Blues here. This game is truly a coin flip in my eyes, as the Capitals have picked up more wins here and there, but the Blues have more upside offensively as the Capitals have been winning low-scoring games with defense more often than not as of late. I can into this one thinking whichever side was giving me the better value I would take and I’m doing just that with the Blues in this one.