Lightning vs Capitals Betting Odds & Preview

Jon Cooper’s Lighting is doing some very un-lightening things to begin the season. The three-time Eastern Conference defending champions find themselves out of the top 10 in most offensive categories including faceoff win percentage (25th) and shots per game (17th). Tampa is 7-points behind the Boston Bruins in the Atlantic Division. The Capitals have won just twice in their last eight games, with their worst loss coming at home against the Arizona Coyotes as a -290 favorite. Neither team is trending in the right direction.

Back to Basics for Lightning

We’ve talked about this in previous previews when NHL teams are in trouble they fall back on one simple aspect of the game, and that’s playing consistent hockey in their own end from game to game.

We continue our Lightning vs. Capitals betting preview by focusing on the total throughout. With Edmonton in town, Wednesday, Tampa played well enough to grab a win, allowing just 29 shots over 60 minutes.

This was a hallmark effort by a team that showed that they were hitting the reset button to focus on their defensive effort. The problem is, holding down guys named McDavid and Draisitl is another animal. The duo scored twice on six shots, leading the Oilers to a hard-fought, 3-2, victory.

When filling out your NHL betting picks cards, make sure to be smart and throw out what you just saw the Oilers because Tampa is not a team that wants to play a low-shot total hockey game. Expect this NHL match-up against the Capitals to be wide-open with both teams getting plenty of scoring chances. Tampa has been consistent over team through the years, with 2022 being no exception (7-5).

Capitals Offense, Non-Existent in Home Loss to Pens

While handicapping this match-up, it’s clear that this will likely be one of our NHL best bets of the season. After a 4-1, home loss to the Penguins, you can clearly see an avalanche of goals coming in this one.

The Capitals’ power play, who was stifled for most of Wednesday night, gave up a shorty to Brock McGinn in the second period allowing the penguins to extend their lead to 2-0. On that advantage, Washington managed just one shot, while Pittsburgh set the tone for the rest of the night.

Washington’s offense ranks in the bottom third, but their power play unit has been a point of strength with a 27.1% success rate.

The under has been a cash cow for Capitals bettors over their last eight games, creating seven tickets in that span, but we would tread lightly when thinking about blindly betting this one to go under. Let’s conclude our Lightning vs Capitals betting odds preview by giving out our official selection.

Oddsmakers Put Heavy Emphasis on Over Bets

It wasn’t a complete surprise when the opening lines came out that the oddsmakers would be all over the total, making the customer pay a premium (-130) to get a piece of the over. With two sputtering offenses getting together, they’re setting a trap to get you to bite on the plus money (under).

The over is on a small 5-2 run the game after the Capitals lose by three or more goals dating back to last hockey season. This year, the trend continued in the third week of October. After losing 5-2 at Ottawa, the Capitals came back to put up 10 goals in their next two games.

This is the first of back-to-back games against the Lightning, and you can bet that Peter Laviolette and Copper will want to set the offensive tone early. To conclude our Lightning vs. Penguins betting odds preview, our official recommendation is to play the over (6.5).

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