9:10 pm
April 18

Capitals @ Avalanche

Who will WIN this matchup?

Washington Capitals (42-23-10)

@ Colorado Avalanche (55-14-6)

 

Starting Goalies:

Ilya Samsonov (WSH): Confirmed

Darcy Kuemper(COL): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

Washington Capitals: (+170)

Colorado Avalanche: (-200)

 

• Colorado (55-14-6, 116 points) clinched the Central Division title and the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference with a 7-4 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The Avalanche also lead the Florida Panthers (114 points) in their bid for a second straight President’s Trophy with seven games remaining. J.T. Compher and Nathan MacKinnon each scored two goals and Darcy Kuemper made 29 saves against the Hurricanes. Colorado has won its past nine games and is 10-0-1 in its past 11.

• Several Avalanche players enter the Capitals game on hot stretches as well. MacKinnon has nine goals and five assists in his past seven games, Valeri Nichushkin has a four-game point streak (two goals, four assists) and former Capital Andre Burakovsky has four goals and seven assists in his past eight games. Colorado jumped out to a 4-0 lead against Carolina, but the Hurricanes rallied to within 4-2 and it was 5-3 to start the third period.

• Washington is still battling for playoff position. The Capitals (42-23-10, 94 points) control the second wild-card spot but could move up to the first wild card or pass the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division, thereby avoiding a first-round match-up against a division winner. The Capitals doubled up the Montreal Canadiens 8-4 on Saturday night, evening their record to 1-1 on a five-game road trip. Anthony Mantha had two goals 34 seconds apart and added two assists as Washington won for the fifth time in six games. Dmitry Orlov had a goal and three assists.

• Alex Ovechkin inched closer to yet another milestone, scoring his 47th goal and fifth in his past six games. A ninth 50-goal season would tie Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. Evgeny Kuznetsov picked up his 50th and 51st assists in that game and has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his past seven games.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Colorado Avalanche
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