The Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs were at opposite ends of the Eastern Conference last year and the way each team has been playing lately makes it seem that could very well be how they finish again this season.
The Washington Capitals (7-4-0) have looked good through eleven games this season, as expected. The Capitals are (4-1-0) at home this season and are coming off a 7-2 thumping of the Flames where they really found their offensive legs. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth was named rookie of the month for September and it looks like he will be the ‘tender the Capitals will be leaning towards throughout the season. Nicklas Backstrom has finally found his scoring touch after a slump to begin the season with 4 points against the Flames and 6 points in total in the Caps last 3 games. Everything seems to be going the Capitals way and a home ice bout with the Leafs should be another easy win for the team.
As everyone knows the Maple Leafs won their first 4 games to start the season, but have since only won once in their last 7 games to drop below .500. The Maple Leafs played a tough game against the Senators last night, losing 3-2, so they will be on short rest as they travel to Washington to take on Ovechkin and the Capitals. Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf was injured in that game and will likely be out of the lineup tonight. The Maple Leafs need a win and fast or they risk putting their fast start to waste and taking the same path as last season.
Toronto Maple Leafs +200 (Bookmaker.com)
Washington Capitals -230 (Sportsbook.com)
The Capitals are heavy odds in this game and rightfully so. The Leafs will need Phil Kessel to get back on the scoreboard in this one and they will also need some depth players to step up and help with scoring if they want an outside shot at winning tonight.
My Pick: Washington Capitals -230
The Nashville Predators (5-2-3) head to Phoenix (3-4-3) tonight to take on the Coyotes.
The Predators were riding high after 8 games, being the only team to have earned a point in every game to that point in the season. Since then the Preds have lost 2 straight in regulation and have slipped to the basement of the very strong Central division. The two losses came against the Blues and Red Wings, two Central division rivals who have had very good starts to the season. The Predators main issue through the last few games of the season has been scoring. The Preds have only scored 12 goals in their last 7 games and that just won’t cut it against the strong teams in the Western Conference. The highest scorers on Nashville are Steve Sullivan and Cal O’Reilly each with 7 points in 10 games. The Predators need to find more production from Dumont, Erat and Hornqvist moving forward.
The Coyotes have a (1-2-2) home record, which they will look to improve this evening. Phoenix has lost 4 of their last 5 and surprisingly their problem has been goals against throughout those games. The Coyotes have allowed 17 goals in those 5 games. Team defense and elite goaltending in Bryzgalov are big parts of Phoenix’s recent success. They will need to rediscover these keys to victory to win tonight.
Nashville Predators +120 (TheSportsbook.com)
Phoenix Coyotes -135 (Bookmaker.com)
The Coyotes are favourites even though they have not shown an ability to win at home consistently this season. Both teams are in slumps at the moment, but something has to give tonight. I see the game going either way, but a wager on the Predators pays out better and I expect them to win 50% of the time, which is better than the 45% win rate needed to place this wager.
My Pick: Nashville Predators +120
The Senators win last night improved the NHL Betting Tips free picks record to (12-4) for +8.81 units. Check out of free NHL predictions daily to see if we can continue this winning record throughout the season.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tagged with: Nashville Predators • Phoenix Coyotes • Toronto Maple Leafs • Washington Capitals