Capitals vs. Senators Pick
Are the Washington Capitals going to post a win in their regular season opener at the Ottawa Senators Thursday night at 7:30PM EST.
Oddsmakers at sports book Bovada.lv have set the Capitals as a -140 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Senators are a +120 underdog and the over-under is 5.5.
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Washington finished last season 55-19-8 and lost to the Penguins in seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Ottawa was 44-28-10 last year and proceeded to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where it lost a double overtime heartbreaker in seven games to the Penguins.
The Capitals were led last year by Nicklas Backstrom (23 G, 63 A) and Alexander Ovechkin (33 G, 36 A). Braden Holtby was 42-13-6 in goal with a 2.07 GAA and a .925 save percentage. The Senators were paced in 2016-17 by Erik Karlsson (17 G, 54 A) and Mike Hoffman (26 G, 35 A). Craig Anderson finished 25-11-4 with a 2.28 GAA and .928 save percentage.
This should be a fun game to watch. You have last year’s No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs clashing with a team that was one goal away from going to the Stanley Cup Finals. It feels as though Ottawa might be undervalued here, with Anderson starting in net and a roster led by one of the best defensemen in the game in Karlsson. We’re going to go with the underdogs in this spot.
NHL DAILY PREDICTION: OTTAWA SENATORS +120