PREMIUM
**$20 TUESDAY** Rogers' Total MASSACRE >> SIZZLING 26-11 Run!
(NHL) Washington vs. Columbus,
Total: 5.50 | -120.00 Under
Result: Loss
Total: 5.50 | -120.00 Under
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Washington Capitals have allowed 11 goals in consecutive losses to Pittsburgh and Vegas, marking the first time they has dropped two straight in regulation since Nov. 14-16. After failing to earn a point in back-to-back games for the first time since mid-November, the the 30-17-5 Capitals, whose 65 points have them atop the Metropolitan Division, look to get back on track when they visit the 27-21-4 Columbus Blue Jackets, in the front end of a home-and-home series. The Capitals have only two wins in their last seven games (2-3-2), while the Blue Jackets suffered a 4-3 setback at the New York Islanders on Saturday and enter tonight's contest on a three-game slide giving them a poor 2-5-1 mark over their last eight games.
Washington: "We're just giving up too (many) good chances right now," defenseman Matt Niskanen said after the Capitals allowed two goals in the final 11 minutes in Sunday's 4-3 home loss to the Golden Knights. Special teams have also dragged down the Capitals in the past two games, as they killed off just one of five penalties while going 0-for-5 on the power play, this after scoring eight times with the man advantage in the previous four games. However, there's no panic among the Capitals, who led the Golden Knights in the third period before giving up the winning goal. "I thought that we played well enough to at least get a point there and we didn't," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we had the game when it was 3-2. We had a couple of open nets and we missed those, and it just came back and bit us you know where." Let's note that the Capitals had been one of the NHL's hottest teams before this two-game before the mini-skid, having 20-4-5 in their previous 29 games
Columbus: The Blue Jackets could not protect a third-period lead in Saturday's 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders. However, despite the loss, Columbus head coach John Tortorella said his team "took a huge step in the right direction" by unleashing a season-high 49 shots on goal. Right wing Cam Atkinson has collected a point in all four games since returning from the lineup after missing more than a month following foot surgery. Atkinson notched his eighth goal Saturday and is looking more like the player who led the Blue Jackets in scoring last season with. The Blue Jackets are definitely struggling recently. They were sitting in first place in the division at Thanksgiving but they've struggled for the past two-plus months, never winning more than two games in a row and now they're clinging to a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference (58 points) with a host of teams breathing down their necks with 57, 56 and 55 points..
The pick: February could be make-or-break time for the Blue Jackets. A majority of their games will be against division opponents, including the Capitals three times, before the calendar turns to March. Coming off back-to-back losses (see above), I expect the Caps, who average 3.06 GPG (9th) to bring their "A game" but I will also note that Washington is allowing an average of 3.54 GPG on the road, Make the Over an 8* play.
Washington: "We're just giving up too (many) good chances right now," defenseman Matt Niskanen said after the Capitals allowed two goals in the final 11 minutes in Sunday's 4-3 home loss to the Golden Knights. Special teams have also dragged down the Capitals in the past two games, as they killed off just one of five penalties while going 0-for-5 on the power play, this after scoring eight times with the man advantage in the previous four games. However, there's no panic among the Capitals, who led the Golden Knights in the third period before giving up the winning goal. "I thought that we played well enough to at least get a point there and we didn't," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said. "I thought we had the game when it was 3-2. We had a couple of open nets and we missed those, and it just came back and bit us you know where." Let's note that the Capitals had been one of the NHL's hottest teams before this two-game before the mini-skid, having 20-4-5 in their previous 29 games
Columbus: The Blue Jackets could not protect a third-period lead in Saturday's 4-3 loss at the New York Islanders. However, despite the loss, Columbus head coach John Tortorella said his team "took a huge step in the right direction" by unleashing a season-high 49 shots on goal. Right wing Cam Atkinson has collected a point in all four games since returning from the lineup after missing more than a month following foot surgery. Atkinson notched his eighth goal Saturday and is looking more like the player who led the Blue Jackets in scoring last season with. The Blue Jackets are definitely struggling recently. They were sitting in first place in the division at Thanksgiving but they've struggled for the past two-plus months, never winning more than two games in a row and now they're clinging to a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference (58 points) with a host of teams breathing down their necks with 57, 56 and 55 points..
The pick: February could be make-or-break time for the Blue Jackets. A majority of their games will be against division opponents, including the Capitals three times, before the calendar turns to March. Coming off back-to-back losses (see above), I expect the Caps, who average 3.06 GPG (9th) to bring their "A game" but I will also note that Washington is allowing an average of 3.54 GPG on the road, Make the Over an 8* play.
