There are three games on the NHL betting board on Monday, headlined by a battle between Eastern Conference contenders as the Tampa Bay Lightning host the Washington Capitals.
The Caps have yet to lose in regulation this season but are +125 road underdogs against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning.
Here are our best free Capitals vs. Lightning picks and predictions for Monday, November 1, with the puck dropping at 7 p.m. ET.
Capitals vs Lightning odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Capitals vs Lightning picks
Picks made on 11/01/2021 at 11:05 a.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Capitals vs Lightning game info
• Location: Amalie Arena, Tampa, FL
• Date: Monday, November 1, 2021
• Puck drop: 7:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Sun, NBC Sports Washington
Capitals vs Lightning betting preview
Injuries
Capitals: Nic Dowd C (Questionable), T.J. Oshie RW (Out), Nicklas Backstrom C (Out).
Lightning: Nikita Kucherov RW (Out), Gemel Smith C (Out), Zach Bogosian D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Capitals vs Lightning head-to-head record (Last 10 games)
Capitals: 6-4, 35 goals for.
Lightning: 4-6, 25 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Capitals are 19-7 in their last 26 road games. Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Lightning.
Capitals vs Lightning picks and predictions
Capitals ML (+125)
The Lightning struggled at the start of the season but the defending champs look to have gotten back on track after posting consecutive 5-1 victories against Pittsburgh and Arizona last week.
Despite potting 10 goals in those last two games, Tampa Bay is still just 23rd in the league in expected goals for per 60 minutes (2.6) while ranking 24th on the power play (15.4 percent).
Washington is also coming off a victory against the winless Coyotes and the Caps are now 5-0-3 to begin the season — with one of those overtime losses coming against the Lightning on October 16.
The Capitals have excelled on both ends of the ice, ranking second in the league in goals for percentage (68.97) and fourth in expected goals for percentage (55.68) in 5v5 hockey.
Tampa Bay's superstar goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy, has been very sharp in his last two games but looked shaky to begin the year. And despite an outstanding performance against the Capitals in that contest two weeks ago, he doesn't have the best track record against them. In 12 career regular-season games versus Washington, he has gone 5-6-1 with a 3.45 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.
While the Bolts are coming off back-to-back impressive victories, they have shown cracks this season and are facing a Capitals side that is red-hot and has played very well against them in recent years. The Capitals have gone 6-4 in the last 10 meetings, including 3-2 in their previous five trips to Amalie Arena. Back the Caps at plus money.
Under 6 (-115)
These teams combined for just two goals and 52 shots in regulation when they met up earlier this season.
Although the Lightning are coming off back-to-back games where they slotted five goals, they totaled a modest 59 shots and 16 high-danger chances in those two games. The Caps have a solid goaltending platoon of Vitek Vanecek and Ilya Samsonov and they've been giving them plenty of defensive support with Washington ranking fourth in the league in xGA/60 (1.91) in 5v5 play.
Meanwhile, the Lightning are eighth in that category with an xGA/60 of 2.0 and Vasilevskiy is one of the best goalies around after finishing as a Vezina Trophy finalist in four straight seasons.
Tampa Bay lost a trio of key depth forwards in the offseason and will once again be without superstar winger Nikita Kucherov for a large chunk of the regular season. That seems to have affected their ability to consistently generate pressure and scoring opportunities. Expect another tight battle between two teams that have legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations and take the Under.
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