by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Feb 23, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Where to watch: BSSC, NBCSWA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Capitals -280, Ducks +235
FanDuel: Capitals -280, Ducks +220
BetMGM: Capitals -280, Ducks +225
Caesars: Capitals -275, Ducks +215
Season record
Ducks: 17-34-7
Capitals: 28-25-6
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Ducks - Capitals preview, prediction and analysis
The Anaheim Ducks will be playing the Washington Capitals on Thursday, February 23 in Washington.
The Anaheim Ducks lost against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, February 21 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 6-1. The Anaheim Ducks currently rank 8th in the Pacific Division.
Ryan Strome scored for the Ducks (17-34-7), who have been outscored 36-15 during a six-game skid (0-5-1), including a 4-3 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers on Monday. Lukas Dostal made 38 saves for the Ducks.
"We're a rebuilding team," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "We played last night, and we were starting to run out of gas after a really strong first period and we've got to play a perfect game to be in with teams like this right now. We weren't able to sustain the game."
Tampa Bay outshot Anaheim 22-1 in the second period with the Ducks' only shot coming with 1:09 remaining.
Tampa scored all of their goals, six of them, before Anaheim was successful. Strome ended Vasilevskiy's shutout at 6:28 for the 6-1 final.
"Unfortunately the way our team is this year, we have to almost play a perfect game to beat a team like this," Strome said. "When they turned it up a notch, we had a tendency to split up rather than come together. Obviously, they're a great team and there are a lot of lessons we can learn from that."
The Anaheim Ducks have won three of their last 10 games.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, February 21 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 3-1. The Washington Capitals currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division.
Tom Wilson scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for the Capitals (28-25-6), who were playing their fourth straight game without Alex Ovechkin, who has been away from the team following the death of his father, Mikhail.
Washington has not led at any point during its five-game losing streak, during which it has been outscored 20-8.
"There's three or four things where if you could go back and do something different, you would, and it might be a tighter game, a closer game," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "But we've still got to find a way to put the puck in the net. It's not falling for us right now."
Robert Hagg gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 10:16 of the first period, taking a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi and scoring five-hole from above the face-off circles.
"Whenever you're chasing games, it's a lot harder," Kuemper said. "Teams can be more patient and wait for your mistakes, and it's hard to score against teams that are up and defending hard."
Pius Suter made it 2-0 at 14:22, electing to shoot glove side from the left circle on a 2-on-1 while short-handed. The goal came after Dylan Larkin was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking T.J. Oshie in the face at 12:43. On the same power play, Wilson cut it to 2-1 at 15:57 when he redirected Erik Gustafsson's slap shot in the slot.
"I think the guys came together today and worked hard, but it's not easy to win in this league," Wilson said. "We've got to find a way here, and there's a good chunk of games left but … we've got to turn this around right now, start putting together some wins."
Suter scored again for Detroit at 6:24 of the third period making the final score 3-1.
The Washington Capitals have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Ducks 3, Capitals 2
The Anaheim Ducks lost against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, February 21 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida with a score of 6-1. The Anaheim Ducks currently rank 8th in the Pacific Division.
Ryan Strome scored for the Ducks (17-34-7), who have been outscored 36-15 during a six-game skid (0-5-1), including a 4-3 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers on Monday. Lukas Dostal made 38 saves for the Ducks.
"We're a rebuilding team," Anaheim coach Dallas Eakins said. "We played last night, and we were starting to run out of gas after a really strong first period and we've got to play a perfect game to be in with teams like this right now. We weren't able to sustain the game."
Tampa Bay outshot Anaheim 22-1 in the second period with the Ducks' only shot coming with 1:09 remaining.
Tampa scored all of their goals, six of them, before Anaheim was successful. Strome ended Vasilevskiy's shutout at 6:28 for the 6-1 final.
"Unfortunately the way our team is this year, we have to almost play a perfect game to beat a team like this," Strome said. "When they turned it up a notch, we had a tendency to split up rather than come together. Obviously, they're a great team and there are a lot of lessons we can learn from that."
The Anaheim Ducks have won three of their last 10 games.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday, February 21 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 3-1. The Washington Capitals currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division.
Tom Wilson scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves for the Capitals (28-25-6), who were playing their fourth straight game without Alex Ovechkin, who has been away from the team following the death of his father, Mikhail.
Washington has not led at any point during its five-game losing streak, during which it has been outscored 20-8.
"There's three or four things where if you could go back and do something different, you would, and it might be a tighter game, a closer game," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "But we've still got to find a way to put the puck in the net. It's not falling for us right now."
Robert Hagg gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 10:16 of the first period, taking a pass from Tyler Bertuzzi and scoring five-hole from above the face-off circles.
"Whenever you're chasing games, it's a lot harder," Kuemper said. "Teams can be more patient and wait for your mistakes, and it's hard to score against teams that are up and defending hard."
Pius Suter made it 2-0 at 14:22, electing to shoot glove side from the left circle on a 2-on-1 while short-handed. The goal came after Dylan Larkin was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking T.J. Oshie in the face at 12:43. On the same power play, Wilson cut it to 2-1 at 15:57 when he redirected Erik Gustafsson's slap shot in the slot.
"I think the guys came together today and worked hard, but it's not easy to win in this league," Wilson said. "We've got to find a way here, and there's a good chunk of games left but … we've got to turn this around right now, start putting together some wins."
Suter scored again for Detroit at 6:24 of the third period making the final score 3-1.
The Washington Capitals have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
Ducks 3, Capitals 2
Betting trends
Ducks are 7-17 after 2 straight overs this season.
Ducks are 11-29 off a loss this season.
Capitals are 16-12 after a home game this season.
Projected lines
Ducks:
Derek Grant -- Trevor Zegras -- Ryan Strome
Adam Henrique -- Mason McTavish - Frank Vatrano
Max Jones -- Isac Lundestrom -- Jakob Silfverberg
Brett Leason -- Jayson Megna -- Sam Carrick
Cam Fowler -- Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit -- John Klingberg
Colton White -- Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson
Derek Grant -- Trevor Zegras -- Ryan Strome
Adam Henrique -- Mason McTavish - Frank Vatrano
Max Jones -- Isac Lundestrom -- Jakob Silfverberg
Brett Leason -- Jayson Megna -- Sam Carrick
Cam Fowler -- Dmitry Kulikov
Simon Benoit -- John Klingberg
Colton White -- Kevin Shattenkirk
John Gibson
Capitals:
Conor Sheary -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Marcus Johansson
Lars Eller -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Erik Gustafsson -- Dylan McIlrath
Darcy Kuemper
Conor Sheary -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Marcus Johansson
Lars Eller -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Dmitry Orlov -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Erik Gustafsson -- Dylan McIlrath
Darcy Kuemper
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
