Washington vs Columbus Prediction
📣 Matchups in the Capital Division always draw heightened interest from fans. Can the "Blue Coats" redeem themselves after their October defeat and outplay the "Capitals"? Find the answer in our prediction.
Head-to-Head
In last season's regular matchups, the teams clashed four times, each securing two victories. The most memorable encounter came on April 12, when the "uniforms" routed Washington 7-0 without Ovechkin, with Shepard in goal. In a recent preseason, the "Capitals" twice edged Columbus (4-3; 2-1). On October 1, Washington triumphed even without Alexander Ovechkin, with young talents Cristall and Protas stealing the show. A month ago, Dean Evason's squad faced challenges against Ovi's crew on home ice. The Ohio team racked up penalties and completely collapsed in the third period, gifting the Capitals a win by a four-goal margin. Columbus's lone goal came from defenseman Denton Mateychuk, who has tallied eight points this season.
H2H Stats Matches and Previous Teams Results
Washington Capitals Team Overview
Last week, the "Capitals" played three games, showcasing a weak defensive performance by conceding a total of 13 goals across these matchups. In the week's opening clash, they held their ground for the first two periods and prevented the struggling Edmonton Oilers from staging a comeback. The most memorable game for fans came on Thursday: on the Montreal ice, Alexander Ovechkin managed to score a hat-trick, reaching 907 goals in NHL regular seasons. In the final showdown of the week, Spencer Carbery's squad was not prepared for the goal-scoring barrage from Tampa Bay Lightning, led by Nikita Kucherov. The "Lightning" knew they couldn't defend against the powerful shots from Ovechkin and Chychrun for long, so they took matters into their own hands. Despite forward Dubois remaining on the injured list, it hasn't significantly impacted their scoring ability.
Match Results: Washington Capitals
Columbus Blue Jackets Team Overview
The "Blue Jackets" find themselves neighboring Washington in the standings. The Eastern Conference is tight right now, with just a 4-point gap between the sixteenth and eighth spots. The Ohio squad will need to find their footing in the coming months, or they might once again settle for a ninth-place finish by season's end. Last week, the visitors picked up 5 points, but none of their victories were convincing. Even against the "Maple Leafs", who were missing their star forward Auston Matthews, Werenski and his teammates found themselves in overtime. It is what it is: in October, the team secured some crucial wins against opponents like Minnesota and Dallas, only to slip back to last season's form. The situation for Columbus is further complicated by the losses of captain Jenner and veteran defenseman Gudbranson.
Match Results: Columbus Blue Jackets
🏒 Projected Lineups
Washington: Thompson - Fehervary, Carlson - Ovechkin, Strome, Beauvillier
Columbus: Greaves - Werenski, Provorov - Voronkov, Fantilli, Marchenko
🥅 Goalies
24-year-old Jet Greaves has played 14 games this season, posting a goals-against average of 2.80. In our view, Greaves currently outperforms his Latvian counterpart Merzlikins.
For Washington, we expect Logan Thompson to start in goal, with 31-year-old Charlie Lindgren ready to step in if needed. Thompson has featured in 15 games, achieving a goals-against average of 2.24.
Editor's Prediction
In the upcoming match, consider betting on over 5.5 goals. This bet has hit in all of Washington's games last week and has been successful in most of Columbus' away games this season. The Capitals have recently struggled to contain opposing forwards, conceding heavily in the first period itself. We anticipate that Marchenko and Voronkov will once again trouble the Washington defense early on, prompting the experienced Russian sniper Alexander Ovechkin to lead his team in a comeback effort.
Betting Tips: Washington Capitals - Columbus Blue Jackets
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