2011 NHL Hockey Free Predictions: Caps vs Leafs
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Washington Capitals (26-14-8) at Toronto Maple Leafs (19-22-5)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 22, 2011, 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario
Broadcast: CBC (HD), NHLN-US (HD), CSN-DC+ (HD)
Capitals vs. Leafs Betting Lines from Bodog.com
Spread: OFF
Moneyline: Washington -135: Toronto +115
Over/Under: 5.5 goals
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The Washington Capitals fresh off a win head to Toronto to take on a Leafs team that has been absolutely Jekyll and Hyde in the last week or so. Both teams have been OK recently, so what would ordinarily have been a poor game may actually have some intrigue.
The Washington Capitals, in some people’s eyes, have been a disappointment this season. Sure the Capitals aren’t scoring six goals every night, but they are still only one point of the division lead and not too far back in the Eastern Conference. Washington is 14th in the NHL in scoring with an average of 2.8 goals. The good news – Nicklas Backstrom finally scored! He broke out of a 21 game slump and he and his line mates Alex Ovechkin and Jason Chimera are playing very well.
Defensively, the Capitals are a very good 9th in the NHL in goals against – 2.5 goals allowed per game. Defense is an unexpected perk for a team that should make a serious second half run.
The Toronto Maple Leafs – what are we to make of them? They are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games but this week suffered a 7-0 defeat at the hands of a brutal offensive club, the New York Rangers. The Leafs bounced back with a 5-2 win against Anaheim on Thursday however.
Toronto has the 25th ranked offense in the NHL – 2.5 goals per game. Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur are the ones doing the damage on the team with Phil Kessel chipping in occasionally as well. Grabovski has eight points in his last seven games and MacArthur has 12 points in his last 10 games. If those two are shut down, it will be a long night for the Leafs!
The Leafs need to give up on the Jonas Gustafson experiment – he is clearly the third best goaltender on the team – he belongs in the minors! Jean-Sebastien Guigere should start on Saturday – he is 1-0-1 with a 1.84 goals against average in his last three games.
Betting Prediction: The Washington Capitals are 10-9-3 on the road this season while the Toronto Maple Leafs are 10-10-4 at home. The teams have split their last 10 games and the Over is 4-0 in the last four games.
The Caps will be without Alex Semin and Eric Fehr once again on Saturday night but it shouldn’t matter. The Caps are simply a better team and they will be ready to play in the most hockey crazed market in the league.
Pick: Washington Capitals -135 and the Over
