NHL Betting Preview: New York Islanders at Washington Capitals

Added on Oct 13, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NHL

NHL betting on Wednesday takes us to the Nation’s Capital as one of the presumptive Stanley Cup challengers, the Washington Capitals, hosts the New York Islanders. Isles are 1-0-1 on the season while Washington is 2-1. The Caps were the best home ice team in the league a year ago and this game is priced accordingly with Washington as high as -300 at some books.

New York Islanders at Washington Capitals
October 13, 2010 4:00 PM Pacific

The Capitals clearly have the talent to blow out any team in the league on a given night. That was evident in their home opener when they destroyed New Jersey 7-2. They also have a habit of being sloppy on the defensive end expecting to outscore their opponents. The Islanders are a team that no one can get ‘up’ to play (with the possible exception of their crosstown rivals the Rangers) and they have their own liabilities on defense and in goal. So far this season, however, they’re scoring more goals per game than the mighty Caps. Washington is averaging 4 goals per game while New York is averaging 5 per game. Obviously its very early in the season, but it sure doesn’t look like the Islanders have any problem ‘putting the biscuit in the basket’.

Washington has won 7 of the last 8 meetings including 3 of 4 last season. With the exception of a late January blowout victory for the Caps, however, the Isles played tough in every game. The other two losses were by a single goal and the Islanders even pulled off the outright upset on Washington’s home ice–one of only five regulation losses for the Caps during the regular season.

The NHL season is a long and grueling campaign and even the best teams often take some time to round into form. Even the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks struggled on offense early last season, though they had the defense to compensate for it. The Caps will never be mistaken for the Blackhawks defensively and with the high scoring tendencies of both teams this will likely be an up and down battle with plenty of goals. For that reason, we’ll take a shot with the Islanders on the puck line getting +1′ goals at a very reasonable price. We’ll also look for this one to go Over the total. Head to head, 3 of 4 games last year went Over. Going back further, these teams have played Over in 6 of 8 overall and 4 straight in Washington.

Bet New York Islanders +1.5 -120 over Washington Capitals
Bet New York Islanders/Washington Capitals Over 6 -130