Caps vs Canes NHL Spread/Handicapping
Southeast Division Showdown – Hurricanes Host Capitals Thursday Night
The surging Carolina Hurricanes will look to extend the woes of the Washington Capitals on Thursday night as the two sides square off in the back end of a home-and-home series.
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Washington Capitals (10-14-1-0) at Carolina Hurricanes (15-9-1-0)
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, March 14, 2013
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Broadcast: NHLN-US, CSN-DC, FS-CR
Caps vs. Canes Betting Lines from WagerWeb
Washington Capitals +1½ -210 +146 Ov 5½ -105
Carolina Hurricanes -1½ +180 -161 Un 5½ -105
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The Hurricanes have vaulted into first place into the Southeast Division on the heels of a 6-1-0 streak while the Caps have slid further down the Eastern Conference standings in the midst of a three game losing streak.
Carolina made it look easy on Tuesday in a 4-0 win in Washington as they have in just about every game during their last seven.
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Washington Capitals fans had reason for optimism at this time last week – the team had won eight of 11 before their most recent three game slide. Washington has been outscored 13-3 during their recent skid and now sit in 14th place in the Eastern Conference – 10 points behind the Canes.
Alex Ovechkin and Eric Fehr gone pointless during the skid and was held without a shot Tuesday for just the second time this season. For Ovechkin it is the second time this season he has failed to register a point versus Carolina. Washington is 2-9-1 when Ovechkin fails to record a point.
The Caps enter Thursday night’s game as one of the worst defenses in the NHL surrendering an average of 3.04 goals per game. Backup Michal Neuvirth, who is 1-4-1 with a 3.05 GAA in seven starts this season, is expected to start this game. He’s 3-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA over his last four starts against the Hurricanes, last facing them March 6, 2012. Injuries could be a factor in front of Neuvirth – Mike Green and John Erskine are likely to miss the game due to injury.
We know that Washington is a poor defensive team. Now they get to face one of the better offenses in the league. Carolina is averaging 3.16 goals per game so far and the team has outscored their opponents 29-15 while recording a 6-1 record in their last seven games.[ad-4437448]
Scoring is coming from everywhere for the Canes – eight players have multiple points in the last two games. Alex Semin has four, Juri Tlusty has three and Riley Nash, Jay Harrison, Jeff Skinner, Joe Corvo, Patrick Dwyer and Tim Gleason each have two. And the Staal brothers have been playing well as of late too. The Hurricanes are suddenly a deep team and a bit of a nightmare to match up against.
Carolina’s starting goaltender has yet to be named but Justin Peters turned away 26 shots Tuesday to post his second career shutout versus Washington. He is now 2-1 on the season and is 3-1-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average lifetime versus the Capitals.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• WAS are 3-10 in their last 13 road games.
• Under is 23-7-2 in WAS last 32 Thu. games.
• CAR are 6-2 in their last 8 Thu. games.
• Under is 7-3-1 in CAR last 11 Thu. games.
• CAR are 3-7 in their last 10 vs. Southeast.
The Carolina Hurricanes were dominant in beating the Capitals earlier this week and now have won four of the last five games in the series. The Canes are rolling – the Caps certainly are not. You have to love Carolina’s depth and their confidence right now – it is hard to imagine them losing on home ice to a Washington team that seems to have lost every bit of their mojo!
Pick: Carolina Hurricanes -161
