Welcome to another edition of NHL Predictions from Last Word on Hockey. We hope you are enjoying your weekend and we certainly hope hockey is on your agenda for weekend activities. Today, we are looking at the game between the St. Louis Blues and the Washington Capitals.
NHL Predictions
St. Louis Blues vs. Washington Capitals
Time: 7:00 P.M. Eastern Standard Time
TV: Bally Sports Midwest, Monumental Sports Network
Both the 2018 and 2019 Stanley Cup Champions meet in St. Louis for their first matchup of the season. The Blue Note lead the all-time series, 48-45-12-1. Last season, the Blues and Caps split the season series.
The two teams do not have much of a history on the ice, despite Alex Ovechkin scoring his 50th goal of the season against the Blues on two separate occasions. However, the teams do have a trade from recent history that played a big part in their respective futures. In the summer of 2015, the Blues traded T.J. Oshie to the Capitals in exchange for Troy Brouwer. With Oshie being a big part of the team’s offence, the Caps won their first Stanley Cup in 2018. Meanwhile, Brouwer helped the Blues reach the Western Conference Final in 2016, their first since 2001 at the time.
Unfortunately, Oshie will not be in the lineup on Saturday in front of his former team’s fans. Oshie is missing the entire season as a result of back issues.
The Blues Story
This was an interesting week for the Blues, which also included a scary moment. Dylan Holloway left Tuesday’s game following being hit in the neck by a puck. Holloway was taken to the hospital where doctors quickly determined he would be okay. Holloway returned to the Blues lineup for their game on Thursday.
“I appreciate all the love and the support that I was getting. The team has been great, all the boys have been great, the coach has been great. I’m just thankful to have such a supportive group around me.” Holloway said Thursday.
Holloway has helped the Blues to a 7-7-0 record so far in the season. Despite multiple players missing time due to injury, the Blues are just a few points out of the playoffs. The team is playing their third game of an important 14-day stretch for the Blues that could have a big impact on the season.
The Capitals Story
The Capitals are having a great season to their season. The Caps are 9-4-0 on the season. The “Great Eight” is leading the way once again for the team. As he inches closer towards breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time goals record, Alex Ovechkin has propelled the Caps to one of the top teams in the league. The legend has eight goals in 13 games on the season.
Between the pipes, Logan Thompson has a perfect record so far. He is 6-0-0 and has been a stone wall for the Capitals. The 27-year old is excelling in his first season in the nation’s capital.
NHL Predictions Blues and Caps
The Blues are hanging in there despite injuries. The Capitals are healthy (as far as compared against their season-opening roster). Furthermore, they have been getting production all over the roster. We are going to go with the visiting team in a close game.
Prediction: Capitals win, 4-3.
Prop Bets
FanDuel is setting the over/under at 5.5 goals. We are taking the over.
We are going to take Alex Ovechkin as an anytime scorer at +155. When someone is close to breaking the all-time record for goals, you simply cannot take that prop bet. Furthermore, we are going to take it a step further and take Ovechkin scoring two or more goals at +1000.
For the Blues, we are taking captain Brayden Schenn as an anytime scorer at +260. In addition, we are also taking former Capital Nathan Walker as an anytime scorer against his former team at +700.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
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