The Washington Capitals have finally found their rhythm as they have won 14 of their last 17 games as they continue their road trip in New York against the New York Islanders. The Islanders are returning home after losing two games in Pittsburgh and kicking off their six-game homestand with Thursday’s game against the Capitals. While the Islanders are still in the thick of it in the East Division, btu they have struggled against the other top-two teams in the division.
T.J. Oshie has scored in his last two games, and he’s always finding ways to score gritty goals for the Capitals. Those are the types of goals Washington is going to need against a disciplined Islanders team. Oshie has a goal and an assist in three games this year against New York and he’s averaging a point per game against the Islanders in his career with 13 goals and 16 assists in 29 games against the Islanders. His recent scoring streak only adds to the value of the +280 odds from the NHL betting sites in New Jersey. T.J. OSHIE SCORES GOAL The Islanders rely on their defense to win games far more than their offense, and that is even more true since Anders Lee left the lineup due to injury. I was pleasantly surprised to see the legal sports betting sites in New Jersey offering +120 odds on New York to score less than 2.5 goals against Washington on Thursday. New York has scored two goals or fewer in two of the three games this year against Washington, and the Capitals defense had played well until the two most recent games against the Rangers. I am unsure if the Islanders have the goal scorers to make a big difference in this game likely against a confident goalie in Ilya Samsonov. NEW YORK ISLANDERS UNDER 2.5 GOALS The fact the Islanders are at home made them the favorites in this game, but I really like the Capitals to win. In addition to winning the first three games of the season against the Islanders, Washington has won 14 of its last 17 games and is looking like a Stanley Cup contender yet again. The offense is clicking, the defense is much improved and the goaltending has been above-average. It’s the perfect recipe for success in Washington, so I’ll take the +180 odds from the hockey betting sites in New Jersey that the Capitals will again finish the deal against the Islanders in regulation. WASHINGTON CAPITALS WIN IN REGULATION
Head to Head This is the fourth matchup of the year between New York and Washington with the Capitals winning each of the first three meetings, all of which were played in Washington. Stats This game will be an interesting test between the offensive-minded Capitals, who rank third in the league with an average of 3.4 goals per game, and the tight-checking Islanders, who rank third in the NHL by allowing just 2.31 goals per game. The Islanders are one of the best home teams in the league with an impressive 13-1-2 record on Long Island this season. However, Washington is a strong 10-4-2 away from home this year and is unbeaten in regulation in games decided by one goal. In his last 12 games, Alex Ovechkin has looked like the prolific scorer we have come to expect from him during his career. He has scored 11 of his 18 goals this season during that span and he has 13 points overall during that stretch. Ovechkin had just seven goals and 17 points in his first 19 games this season for Washington. J.G. Pageau is a weapon for the Islanders on special teams with six of his 11 goals this season coming either on the power play or shorthanded in addition to three power-play assists. He also has three game-winning goals this season, which is the second-most on the team.
Washington Capitals to win I understand why the New York Islanders are a favorite at home, but this seems like a mismatch in the Washington Capitals’ favor. Washington won the first three meetings of the season with New York and did so in rather impressive fashion as well on home ice. And two of those games came before this recent run of success for Washington, which has won 14 of its last 17 games. The Islanders have simply been beating up on the weaker teams in the East Division and are just 2-7-2 against Washington and Pittsburgh this season. The Capitals have looked strong against every challenger, and I expect that to continue Thursday.
