The Washington Capitals (50-19-9) travel to face off against the Columbus Blue Jackets (36-33-9) on Saturday, April 12th. This game will be played at Nationwide Arena in Columbus and televised on ABC. Both the Capitals and Blue Jackets will be looking to bounce back from losses in their previous games. Puck drop is scheduled for 12:30 ET.

Capitals vs Blue Jackets

The Washington Capitals Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

The Capitals fell to 50-19-9 after a 4-2 road loss to the Hurricanes. Washington initially took the lead, scoring twice in the first period, but Carolina responded with four unanswered goals. The total for the game was set at 6 goals, and the combined score matched that number. Washington, as the underdog on the puck line, failed to cover.

Both of the Capitals’ goals came in the first period, with Alex Ovechkin tying the game at 1-1 with just 44 seconds left, and Brandon Duhaime giving them the lead at 19:49. However, the Hurricanes tied it up early in the second period and added two more goals, including an empty-netter, to seal the win.

The Columbus Blue Jackets Look To Bounce Back From A Loss

Columbus fell to 36-33-9 after a 7-2 loss to the Capitals. The game’s total was set at 6.5 goals, but the teams combined for 9. As underdogs on the puck line, the Blue Jackets failed to cover.

Defensive struggles were evident early, as Columbus gave up five goals in the first period. Damon Severson and Kevin Labanc each scored for the Blue Jackets, but it wasn’t enough to close the gap.

Washington Offense Breakdown

In their 4-2 loss to the Hurricanes, the Capitals scored both of their goals in the first period. Alex Ovechkin netted his 7th goal of the season on a power play, while Brandon Duhaime followed with his 2nd goal. Ovechkin had 5 shots on goal, and Duhaime added 3.

Washington managed 21 shots on goal but struggled with 15 giveaways. Nic Dowd earned his 2nd assist of the season, and Dylan Strome picked up his 13th assist on Ovechkin’s power-play goal.

Blue Jackets Offense Breakdown

Columbus was shut out in the first period before Damon Severson netted his 4th goal of the season, and Kevin Labanc added his 2nd. The Blue Jackets fired 36 shots on goal but were limited to just two scores in their 7-2 loss to Washington.

Columbus recorded 13 giveaways and registered three assists, including Sean Monahan’s 5th of the season. Adam Fantilli picked up his 4th assist on Severson’s goal.

Washington Team Defense

Washington’s defense gave up the first goal just 5:59 into the first period, and after taking a 2-1 lead, they allowed three unanswered goals—two in the second period and one more in the third. The Capitals’ defense finished with 2 takeaways and 20 hits. Charlie Lindgren made 41 saves with a 93.2% save percentage.

Columbus Team Defense

Columbus’ defense struggled early, allowing five goals in the first period, including the first just 56 seconds in. The Blue Jackets gave up another in the second and one more in the third, leading to a 7-2 loss. Goalie Daniil Tarasov made 15 saves with a 68.2% save percentage, while the defense recorded 10 takeaways and 17 hits.

Capitals vs Blue Jackets Trends

• Although Washington has a straight up record of 1-2 in their last three road games, they have not held up as well vs the puck line going 0-3. The team averaged 2 goals per game in these games.
• In their last five games at home, the Blue Jackets have a straight up record of 4-1 while going 2-3 vs the spread. The team averaged 5 goals per game in this stretch.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Blue Jackets have gone 2-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-4.
• As the betting favorite, the Capitals have an puck line mark of just 5-5 in their last ten games. Washington posted a straight up mark of 7-3 in these matchups.

Capitals vs Blue Jackets Prediction

When it comes to a moneyline wager, I’m going with the Blue Jackets to defeat the Capitals while playing at home. Given the current moneyline odds at +107, I’m placing a wager on the Blue Jackets to win outright.

Our projections have the Blue Jackets pulling out a win as the underdog. But if you’re not as bullish as we are on the Blue Jackets, we’d recommend at least getting a bet down on them to cover the puck line.

When considering the over/under line, which is currently at 6.5 goals, we believe that this game will go over that threshold, and we recommend wagering on the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.