Adam Williams presents his prediction for the NHL match.
Compared to last season, the Washington Capitals are showing modest results both in terms of play and in the standings, barely holding onto a Wild Card spot. Can they defeat the last-place team in the conference, the New York Islanders?
Washington Capitals
The problems are systemic: weak power play (18.8%, 20th place) and penalty kill (67.9%, 27th place). In their last game against the Dallas Stars (0:1), the team failed to convert any of their three power-play opportunities. The offence are not finding effective solutions — Alexander Ovechkin has only scored two goals in 10 games, and the leader in goals (5) and points (11) has unexpectedly become Tom Wilson.
New York Islanders
In each of the previous two seasons, the New York Islanders finished in last place for penalty kill. Now they are in a relatively decent 23rd place, but with the same percentages (71.9%). Less than a month has passed since the start of the season, but the Islanders have already met the Washington Capitals: at the very beginning, they lost at home with a score of 2:4. Back then, the visitors did not convert either of their two power plays, while the home side, on the contrary, converted two out of three. In that game, both teams combined for a shooting percentage of just over 9%.
Washington Capitals vs New York Islanders Prediction
The New York Islanders are conceding a lot this season (an average of 3.9 goals per game), but last season two out of three matches against the Washington Capitals were low-scoring, including a 4:1 victory. The Capitals should not lose at home, but are unlikely to show high offensive output, so we will add an under 6.5 goals bet to the combo.
