{"id":459523,"date":"2024-12-28T09:03:52","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T14:03:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=459523"},"modified":"2024-12-28T09:03:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T14:03:52","slug":"nhl-predictions-dec-28-washington-capitals-vs-toronto-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/12\/28\/nhl-predictions-dec-28-washington-capitals-vs-toronto-maple-leafs\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: Dec 28 Washington Capitals vs Toronto Maple Leafs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey<\/em>\u00a0takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups. In today\u2019s round of NHL Predictions, we are looking at the game between the\u00a0Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> vs Washington Capitals<\/a>. Be sure to check out more NHL Predictions as the 2024-25 season continues.<\/p>\n

NHL Predictions<\/h2>\n

Montreal Canadiens vs Florida Panthers<\/h3>\n

Time:<\/strong> 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> TSN2; Scripps; ESPN+<\/p>\n

We start NHL predictions with the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> visiting the Florida Panthers<\/a>. The Habs will give the start to Jakub Dobes in this game. Montreal is coming into this first game since the break with a 6-4 record in the last 10 games. Cole Caufield<\/a> is first on the team in goals with 17. However, Nick Suzuki<\/a> is tops in assists (24) and points (35).<\/span><\/p>\n

Spencer Knight<\/a> is the confirmed starter for the Panthers, who are 7-3 in the last 10 games. However, Florida is coming off a loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> in the last game before the holidays. Sam Reinhart<\/a> has been red-hot this season with 22 goals, 23 assists and 45 points this season.<\/p>\n

Dobes won’t get eased into the net and takes on a well-rested Florida team in this one.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prediction: Panthers win 4-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

Washington Capitals vs Toronto Maple eafs
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Head-to-Head: Capitals 1-1 Maple Leafs<\/h4>\n

Time:<\/strong>\u00a07 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> CBC; Sportsnet; Monument Sports Network 2; NHL Network<\/p>\n

Our featured game of NHL predictions has the Maple Leafs visiting the Capitals. Toronto will be without<\/a> team captain Auston Matthews<\/a> in this one. However, the Leafs have been playing well without him. Matt Murray<\/a> should be the starter with Toronto beating the Detroit Red Wings<\/a> the night before. Mitch Marner<\/a> collected a hat trick in that victory.<\/p>\n

There could be good news for the Caps with the possible return of Alex Ovechkin<\/a>. However, there was no confirmation as of press time. Charlie Lindgren<\/a> is the expected starter, but always check social media before locking in a daily fantasy starter. Aliaksei Protas<\/a> has been solid before the break with six goals and two assists over the past 10 games.<\/p>\n

Toronto has done well without Matthews. However, the possible return of Ovechkin will give Washington a lift.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Capitals win 4-2.<\/em><\/p>\n

New York Rangers vs Tampa Bay Lightning<\/h3>\n

Time:<\/strong> 7 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n

TV:<\/strong> MSG 2; Fan Duel Sports Sun; ESPN+<\/p>\n

The last game of NHL predictions has the New York Rangers<\/a> trying to get on track against the Lightning. Igor Shesterkin<\/a> is the likely starter for the Blueshirts, who are losers of two straight and dropped seven of the last 10 games. Artemi Panarin<\/a> has collected 15 goals and 21 assists for the Rangers.<\/p>\n

Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/a><\/span> is the projected starter for Tampa Bay, which is 7-3 in the last 10 games. The Lightning rank second in the league with 126 total goals, which is nearly four per game. Brayden Point<\/a> has registered 22 goals and 17 assists for the Lightning.<\/p>\n

The Rangers are in tough and need to find a way forward. However, the Lightning should take this.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Lightning win 4-1.<\/em><\/p>\n

Prop Bets of the Night<\/h3>\n

We close out NHL predictions with some prop bets. We’ll go to our featured game for the preferred props. For Toronto, go with John Tavares<\/a> to get the over on 1.5 assists at +155. For Washington, take Connor McMichael<\/a> to score at any time with a +260. These are courtesy of BetMGM.<\/p>\n

Main photo by: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n

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Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling\u00a0problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day,\u00a0Last Word on Hockey\u00a0takes a look at the games that are scheduled and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will be victorious in head-to-head matchups. In today\u2019s round of NHL Predictions, we are looking at the game between the\u00a0Toronto Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals. Be sure to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":433483,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15,4547,4548,4524,18],"tags":[6255,6016,6122,6391,6062,6239],"class_list":["post-459523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-capitals","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","category-leafs","tag-florida-panthers-predictions","tag-montreal-canadiens-predictions","tag-new-york-rangers-predictions","tag-tampa-bay-lightning-predictions","tag-toronto-maple-leafs-predictions","tag-washington-capitals-predictions"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=459523"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459523\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":459533,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/459523\/revisions\/459533"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/433483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=459523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=459523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=459523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}