The East Division-leading Washington Capitals will look to sweep their two-game set against the third-place Boston Bruins on Friday, after a 2-1 shootout win on Wednesday.
Can Boston earn some revenge against Washington and keep themselves in the mix at the top of their division?
Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Washington Capitals vs. Boston Bruins on Friday, March 5 (7:00 p.m. ET).
Washington Capitals at Boston Bruins betting preview
Injuries
Capitals: No injuries to report.
Bruins: No injuries to report.
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Betting trend to know
Capitals are 37-15 in the last 52 meetings. Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Bruins.
NHL sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonPointsBet USA pegged Boston a -150 favorite when this game opened Thursday morning, and the Bruins slowly crept down to -130 by late this morning, then inched up to -135. As of 4:30 p.m. ET, 59 percent of bets and 71 percent of dollars are on favored Boston. The total opened 6.5 (Under -125), and the first move was down to 6 (Over -115), and it's now at 6 (Under -115), with 62 percent of bets/58 percent of cash on the Under.
Check out the full line movement for this game
Moneyline pick
The Bruins, with two games in hand on the Capitals and Islanders — the two teams above them in the East Division — failed to draw even with Washington after a shootout loss on Wednesday. Boston took a third period lead late in that one before the Caps tied it up and triumphed in the shootout.
While Boston is sixth in goals allowed per game on the season, at 2.6, it has been a mixed bag recently. In a span of two days last week they allowed 13 goals, before righting the ship with just two goals allowed in their last two games.
However, despite the Bruins' defensive performance in their most recent games, they seemed to have gotten away with one in Wednesday's contest against Washington. The Capitals were unable to create many quality chances and scored just once despite Boston allowing 28 shots to a Washington attack scoring the fourth-most goals per game in the NHL (3.3). In their two meetings earlier this season, Washington averaged 3.5 goals per game. With the B's unable to earn a win on the back of an excellent defensive performance on Wednesday, we like the Caps to find the back of the net more often in this one and pick up another win.
PREDICTION: Capitals (+120)
Over/Under pick
After hitting the Over in the first two matchups, the Caps and Bruins went Under in Wednesday's sleepy contest. Neither side has consistently hit the Over or Under this season, with Washington at 13-9 O/U and Boston 9-11 O/U. However, both teams have gone Under in their last two games and in six of their last 10.
As it relates to the matchup between these two sides, Wednesday was a more accurate representation of their game flow. Their first two games produced 15 total goals, despite an expected goals total of 9.65. Wednesday's total of three was much more in line with the expected goals total of 2.59. With these two playing fairly cagey games this season and a large total with the Bruins involved (Wednesday was the first time they saw a total of six or higher all season), we like the Under here.
PREDICTION: Under 6 (+100)
Capitals vs Bruins betting card
- Capitals (+120)
- Under 6 (+100)
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