The Washington Capitals and Arizona Coyotes are both off to surprisingly good starts.
Both the Caps and Coyotes were projected to finish with 80-85 points and be on the fringe of the playoff picture, but neither has come off the pace as we head toward the dog days of winter.
Washington is 12-7-2 and in third place in the Metropolitan Division, while Arizona is 12-9-2 and occupying a wild card spot in the Western Conference.
The Coyotes are a -115 home favorite against the Caps on Monday night.
Capitals vs. Coyotes prediction
Perhaps the most surprising part of Washington’s strong start is how it is getting wins.
For a long time, the Caps were one of the league’s offensive powerhouses and could rely on their elite playmakers to bail them out even on nights when they didn’t have their best stuff. But this season it’s been a massive struggle for Washington to not only find the back of the net, but also to create scoring chances.
The Capitals rank 31st in the NHL in goals per game, 21st in expected goals for and 25th in high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5. It’s hard to believe a team with this kind of offensive output is having as much success as the Capitals are through the first quarter of the season.
The Coyotes haven’t set the world on fire, either, but they are markedly better offensively than Washington is right now. The Coyotes are 15th in the NHL in goals scored, 15th in expected goals created and 21st in high-danger scoring chances generated at 5-on-5.
Neither team has a dynamite statistical portfolio and if all things were equal this matchup could be classified as a coin flip, but this is a tough spot for the Capitals.
Betting on the NHL?
Not only are the Caps the road team, but this will be their fifth game in eight nights as they wrap up a road trip that has seen them play in San Jose, Los Angeles, Anaheim, Las Vegas and now Tempe.
With very little separating these two teams, I have no problem fading the Caps in a really tough schedule spot Monday night.
Play the Coyotes up to -120.
The Bet: Arizona Coyotes (-112, DraftKings)
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