Tampa Bay vs Washington | Betting Preview, Odds, Pick

Tampa Bay Lightning (27-27-12) @ Washington Capitals (45-13-9)
7:00 PM ET, Friday, March 12, 2010
Verizon Center, Washington, District Of Columbia

The Washington Capitals will try to add to their league leading home record on Friday against a Tampa Bay team that made a bit of noise prior to the Olympic break but has fallen back to earth lately.

• The Washington Capitals rank 1st on offense, and average 3.9 goals per game. The Capitals have the best power play in the NHL at 25.6% and have 67 power play goals.
• The Tampa Bay Lightning rank 17th on offense, and average 2.7 goals per game. The Lightning are 19.0% on the power play and have 51 power play goals.
• The Capitals average 4.0 goals per game at home, and give up 2.5 goals against on defense.
• The Lightning average 2.4 goals per game on the road, and give up 3.7 goals against on defense.

Tampa Bay Lightning: +270

The Tampa Bay Lightning had their playoff chances take a real blow in Thursday night with a bad loss to the pitiful Maple Leafs. Not only did they lose in overtime in Toronto, they got pretty badly outplayed after the first period. The Lightning have had players that have been on good offensive streaks, but their play has not translated to wins. The Lightning have lost four of their five games since the Olympic break.

Steven Stamkos has been lighting up the league while another youngster Steve Downie has also been playing very well. Vincent Lacavalier has been better of late but still not nearly worthy of his 7 million dollar salary. Ryan Malone has also been very good for the Bolts. When the Lightning were making some noise in the Eastern Conference race, goaltender Antero Niittymaki and Mike Smith were playing like an all stars but since the Olympic break, they have given up 23 goals in 5 games.

Washington Capitals: -330

What can I say about the Washington Capitals that hasn’t already been said? They have needed extra time in their last two games – a 4-3 shootout loss to Dallas and a 4-3 overtime win against Carolina. A 14 game home winning streak was snapped on Monday by Dallas, but the Caps still boast an incredible 26-3-4 record on home ice. The Caps have been so good this season that as of Thursday night, they have already clinched the Southeast Division.

The usual suspects have been getting it done for the Capitals. Ovechkin has shaken his slump; Nick Backstrom, Alex Semin and Mike Green have led the Caps to the best overall record in the NHL and continue to do so.

Obviously the Washington Capitals are going to win this game. You are going to have to wager a lot of dough to win a little. Take a look at the over in this game. Over is 8-0 in Tampa’s last 8 games vs. Eastern Conference. Over is 8-2 in Washington’s last 10 vs. Southeast. Over is 17-6-3 in Washington’s last 26 overall.  Over is 6-2-2 in the last 10 meetings between the two clubs.

Pick: Washington Capitals and the Over

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Tampa Bay Lightning Betting Trends:

• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games
• Tampa Bay is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games on the road
• Tampa Bay is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games on the road

Washington Capitals Betting Trends:

• The total has gone OVER in 9 of Washington’s last 11 games
• Washington is 18-4 SU in its last 22 games
• The total has gone OVER in 5 of Washington’s last 6 games at home
• Washington is 14-1 SU in its last 15 games at home