Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals - Odds and Predictions

Where: Capital One Arena – Washington, D.C.

When: Wednesday, December 11, 7PM EST

How (TV/Radio): TVA, NBC Sports | WFAN

Boston Bruins (Away)

Head Coach: Bruce Cassidy{All-Time 184-104-9-35 BOS, PHI}

It’s rare that the Boston Bruins come into a game following a regulation loss (they only have two this season). It’s even rarer that they enter a game coming off of a loss against a team in the league’s bottom-five. The Bruins hope to bounce back after a 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators but it will not be easy against a team like Washington.

Offense

Although coming off of a loss, the Bruins must be happy to have a majority of their roster back on the ice. They got forward Patrice Bergeron back in time for the game against Ottawa. Although that game didn’t go their way, Boston’s roster will only get stronger.

All season the Bruins have been going back and forth with the Edmonton Oilers in the battle for power-play supremacy. They currently rank second in the league prior to this game with a 30.86 power-play percentage and the third-most power-play goals with 25.

The Bruins also have the second-most combined goals in the league – second to only the Washington Capitals. The Bruins have scored 101 goals this season and 25 percent of those have come from just one man: David Pastrnak.

David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand have combined for 87 points this season and the team has the league’s third-best shooting percentage at 11.5 percent.

Defense

It’s not just the power play that is clicking for Boston. All special teams are on fire as the team boasts the league’s sixth-best penalty-killing unit. Boston has an 84.88 percent success rate when down a man.

The goaltending of Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak has also been nothing short of brilliant this season. The two goalies have a combined save percentage of .931 – the best in the league. They have also combined for four shutouts this season – the most of any team.

The Bruins have allowed only 61 goals against this season. No team has allowed less. Only 48 of those goals came at even strength.

Although they have allowed the 15th-most shots against. They are tied with Washington when it comes to average shots allowed per game at 31.2.

Goaltending

The Bruins won’t be pulling any punches as Tuukka Rask has been confirmed to start the game for Boston Wednesday night. Rask has consistently been one of the best goalies in the league this season and currently has a record of 13-3-3. His goals-against average sits at 2.19 and he has a .927 save percentage. Rask also has two shutouts this season.

Head Coach: Todd Reirden{All-Time 70-31-13 WSH}

Just like their opponents, the Washington Capitals are coming off of a loss against a lower-tiered team. The Caps dropped their last game to the Columbus Blue Jackets, another team in the bottom five, with a final score of 5-2. And, like Boston, it’ll be hard to bounce back Wednesday night against such a formidable opponent.

Offense

First of all, it’s important to mention that although Boston is getting healthier and stronger by the day, the Washington Capitals are coming into this game with no injuries at all. Forward Nicklas Backstrom returned to the lineup last week and the offense has continued to surge for the Caps.

Washington has combined to score 106 goals this season – more than any other team in the league. Considering they rank 11th in shots, it’s no surprise that they also rank first in the league when it comes to shooting percentage with an 11.6 percent.

The Caps’ power play ranks fifth in the league. They have a power-play percentage of 24.72 percent and have 22 power-play goals this season.

Captain Alex Ovechkin has been a goal-scoring machine, as usual, and defenseman John Carlson still ranks in the league’s top-five for scoring with 43 points.

Defense

Defensively, Washington is going to have to work a little harder. They have allowed the 15th-most goals against this season (22 more goals allowed than the Bruins).

They have also allowed the 14th-most shots against this season. As mentioned earlier, they allow an average of 31.2 shots per game.

The team’s combined save percentage also sits outside of the league’s top-ten. Braden Holtby, although rocking a winning record, started the season poorly. He has started to come around lately but the team’s SA is still only at .909.

The Washington Capitals do have three short-handed goals this season though so Boston’s power play, although elite, will have to be cautious.

Goaltending

Washington will also be playing their go-to starter Wednesday night as Braden Holtby is set to be in the crease. After a rocky start to the season, Holtby has come around to put together a season record of 15-3-4, a goals-against-average of 2.84, and a .909 save percentage.

These two teams last faced each other a little under a month ago on November 16. The Washington Capitals came out on top, earning a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Bruins.

Both teams are coming off horrible losses and both need to get back in the driver’s seat and reestablish their dominance over the league. This win is especially important for the Boston Bruins, who not only lost to the Ottawa Senators in regulation but have lost three games straight for the first time this season. Boston are only three points behind Washington in the battle for first place and they still have a game in hand over the Caps.

Questions to Answer

Are we expecting fireworks? With both teams having something to prove after, essentially, being embarrassed, should we expect a fast-paced game with high scoring and big hits? Or will these teams style cancel each other out?

Will Boston’s David Pastrnak and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin be able to pot any goals against each other? The two all-stars currently rank first and second in the league for goals scored (Pastrnak, 25. Ovechkin, 20).

Will Boston’s Patrice Bergeron have a better outcome against the Caps – only his second game since returning from a long-term injury?

Boston Bruins Injury Report

D Kevan Miller – IR/NR (kneecap)

F Anton Blidh – IR/NR (shoulder)

F Zach Senyshyn – DL (lower-body)

F Karson Kuhlman – DL (leg)

Washington Capitals Injury Report

None to report

Boston Bruins vs Washington Capitals Odds

The latest odds for the Bruins vs the Capitals are provided by bet365 NJ, SugarHouse NJ, and 888sport NJ.

Good Luck!

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