– Last Updated on January 17, 2017 5:16 pm
Free NHL Hockey Prediction: Lightning vs Capitals NHL Odds
Looking for Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals free hockey plays & NHL Odds? NHL betting sees the Lightning taking on the Capitals on Friday December 22nd at the Verizon Center in Washington. Cappers Picks provides complimentary expert handicapping picks on all NHL Hockey matchups all season long so stay tuned for more FREE daily NHL hockey predictions.
(16-14-3) Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals (19-8-4)
Date: Friday, December 22nd
Time: 7:00 PM
Venue: Verizon Center, Washington, DC
NHL Hockey Moneyline Odds: Off
NHL Hockey Puck Line Odds: Off as of 1am ET Friday.
NHL Betting Total:
Live NHL Odds
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For TodayClick here to view… NHL ATS Stats & Expert NHL Betting Insight!
Two heavyweights of the Eastern Conference meet Friday night in the last night of games before the holiday break. The Lightning are scuffling of late, as are the Caps who come in with two straight losses.
Tampa Bay Lightning
You’d be hard-pressed to find a team with more key injuries in the NHL right now than the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Bolts are without Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov, and just lost goalie Ben Bishop to injury in a 4-1 win over the Red Wings earlier this week.
The injuries are starting to catch up with this team, as Tampa was projected to compete for the top spot in the Atlantic but have fallen off the pace quite significantly.
Check out the free sports picks from Cappers Picks experts today!
The Lightning should still be a playoff team, and those players will get healthy, but at the moment they are on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.
Nikita Kucherov’s injury is proving to be quite significant at this point, as the Russian forward was off to a torrid start to the season, racking up 30 points in 28 games.
Tampa is 2-2 since Kucherov went down on Dec. 10 and the forward group, despite its depth, is a bit of a mess with Cory Conacher and Erik Condra playing the wings around Tyler Johnson.
Depth is something this team specializes in though, and no truer is that statement than when you look at their goaltending, as Andrei Vasilevskiy will be charged with goaltending duties while Bishop recovers.
The 22-year-old netminder is 7-4-1 on the season with a very solid .923 SV%.
Washington Capitals
The Caps are proof as to how tough the Metropolitan Division is this year. Washington sits in the second wildcard spot in the East at present and fifth in the Metro with 42 points.
For some context, 42 points would be second place in the Atlantic Division and 7 points better than the Florida Panthers who are fifth in the Atlantic.
Washington has gone 6-2-2 in their last 10 but have dropped two in a row (2-1 vs Montreal, and a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers).
The Caps did get a good sign on Wednesday night despite blowing a lead with less than 30 seconds to play in the game, as Andre Burakovsky finally found the back of the net for the first time in 26 games.
[dfads params=’groups=234&limit=1&return_javascript=1′]
The 21-year-old forward is one of the more talented young players out there, but has struggled to score this season.
If he can get rolling and add some supplementary offense to a team that is already loaded with talent, the Caps are going to be a force to be reckoned with.
It’s also worth noting that the Caps have only lost more than two games in a row once this season, and after a three game losing streak to begin December, the Caps ran off six straight wins before dropping their last two.
NHL Betting Trends:
- TB are 1-7 in their last 8 road games.
- TB are 10-3 in their last 13 Fri. games.
- TB are 3-9 in their last 12 overall.
- WAS are 13-3 in their last 16 Fri. games.
- WAS are 40-11 in their last 51 vs. Atlantic.
- WAS are 6-2 in their last 8 overall.
- Home team is 17-5 in the last 22 meetings.
- Over is 19-7 in the last 26 meetings.
Free Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals NHL Hockey Prediction:
A banged up Tampa team is just looking to get to the holiday break without losing anyone else to injury, while the Caps are hoping to keep pace with a group of division leaders that just don’t seem to lose.
4* Free NHL Betting Pick: There’s no line yet. Check back later for a free ATS, ML or O/U pick. Final score prediction is below.
Washington on home ice against a Tampa team on the limp should be a win for the Caps.
NHL Free Score Prediction: Tampa Bay 2 – Washington 4
If you’re looking for more NHL picks like this Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Washington Capitals matchup we’ll be providing 4* free NHL predictions on the blog during the entire 2016 NHL season, and check out our Experts for guaranteed premium & free NHL Hockey picks!
CappersPicks.com has Stanley Cup odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NHL lines up for early games as well.