Rangers vs. Capitals prediction: NHL odds, picks, bets for Wednesday
It’s been difficult to pinpoint who stands as a bona fide challenge to the Rangers within the Metropolitan Division.
There is a thicket of six teams that live within six points of each other and the Capitals reside in the middle heading into Wednesday’s holiday resumption at Madison Square Garden.
Washington’s inconsistencies are drawn to unstable offensive output.
Alex Ovechkin’s season has reflected some regression and he leads the team with 20 points through 31 games alongside Dylan Strome.
What we can laud is Capitals goaltending. Washington goalies have strung a No. 3-ranked .913 save percentage together.
Charlie Lindgren has been the most notable emergence in D.C. with 11.9 goals saved above expected.
He’s also the owner of the Caps’ only two shutouts.
One of those was the 4-0 triumph over the Rangers on Dec. 9, which was the only time New York has been blanked.
Since then, the Rangers’ goals against average has taken a dip dropping to No. 8 overall, but they still lead the Eastern Conference in goal differential at plus-19.
Igor Shesterkin is building momentum, riding three straight victories featuring three goals or less and stopping 93 percent of shots in that window.
For all the positive results the Rangers have achieved thus far, much of it is due to elite special teams and goaltending.
The top-six forward group has been reliable with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad both registering over a point per game.
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But as a five-on-five team, New York doesn’t produce the most exciting numbers as it is the definition of average in both shot attempt differential and expected goals.
Washington is one of the least disciplined teams having racked up the fourth-highest amount of penalty minutes, but persevere with a penalty kill succeeding at an 82.7 percent rate.
The chemistry of a lousy offense with sound goaltending has resulted in the Caps having hit the Under 21 times on the season — most in the NHL.
That said, look for a steady battle between these two as both clubs rank in the league’s bottom-five of high-danger scoring generation.
The play: Rangers-Capitals Under 6 (-110, FanDuel).
