Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/10/2022

Time: 1:30 p.m. ET

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to watch: TNT

DraftKings: Even

BetMGM: Bruins -115, Caps -105

Caesars: Bruins -115, Capitals -105

Bruins: 45-21-5

Capitals: 39-22-10

Any time the Washington Capitals can secure themselves an impressive win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, it's something to take notice. And given the fact that the Capitals don't really have anything left to play for -- or anything to gain, for that matter -- that's why that win was important.

When we're at the point where the Capitals might be the most dangerous second wild-card team we've seen in recent memory, it's going to be an interesting playoff run the next few weeks. And even with the Caps playing the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday, I like them in this matchup against the Boston Bruins back home at Capital One Arena.

Six different players scored a goal Saturday in Washington's 6-3 win over the Penguins, including Alex Ovechkin's 44th goal of the season, for an impressive set of road wins against Tampa Bay and now Pittsburgh. Tom Wilson also added a goal and an assist, with his goal breaking the tie in the third period.

"On the road, often you have to come together as a group to get it done," Wilson said. "You're out on the road and playing in a loud building. That felt like a playoff atmosphere. The rink was loud. There was a lot of energy. To come together and play well in that type of game is encouraging down the line." 

That's really what the Capitals need at this time of year. We're looking at a group that's proven to play well when the chips are stacked against them. We know what Ovechkin and the crew can bring. The biggest question the Capitals need to figure out between now and Game 1 of their first-round series against either the Florida Panthers or Carolina Hurricanes is the goaltending situation.

Vitek Vanecek, numbers wise, has been the much better goalie and it wouldn't shock me to see him get the call for the start of the playoffs. I do wonder, however, if it turns into a 2018 situation when Washington started Philipp Grubauer after two losses and went back to Braden Holtby to win the Stanley Cup. There's some time to figure that one out.

Normally I don't take on the ideology of picking the back-to-back team, but there's a potentially tired Bruins squad coming in to wrap up a four-game road trip. The Bruins are, however, coming off a 2-1 win at Tampa Bay on Friday and won for the ninth time in 11 games. It tends to be that time of year when we totally forget about the Bruins and what they can bring, especially with Charlie Coyle scoring the game-winning goal.

“This was a goaltending battle,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said after his goalie, Linus Ullmark, made 28 saves. “Tonight we were one goal better.”

Boston, I wouldn't say, is sneaking under the radar, but it's another reminder that if they get hot goaltending, no matter who they put in between Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, this group is capable of beating anyone. The biggest question remains their depth scoring and who can provide offense if the names aren't Marchand, Pastrnak or Bergeron.

That's the biggest thing that slowed down Boston last year, and it can happen again. If you slow down the top six, you've got a chance. But let's see what this goalie duo does in the playoffs now that Tuukka Rask can't be the scapegoat in Boston anymore.

At the end of the day, while Boston's run has been impressive, I think Washington will benefit from the light travel to jumping straight into another day game. Boston can't wait to get home, I'm sure, and a 2-2 split on this road trip would not be a bad thing considering they got the big win in Tampa. I think Washington squeezes one more out and gets a victory on home ice. Capitals win 4-3

Bruins are 14-6 this season following a division game.

Bruins are 41-31 since 1996 when playing their fourth road game in seven days.

Bruins are 13-5 this season after playing two straight road games.

Capitals are 4-2 this season when revenging a road loss against their opponent.

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk

Taylor Hall -- Erik Haula -- Marc McLaughlin

Trent Frederic -- Charlie Coyle -- Craig Smith

Nick Foligno -- Tomas Nosek -- Curtis Lazar

Mike Reilly -- Charlie McAvoy

Matt Grzelcyk -- Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort -- Connor Clifton

Linus Ullmark

Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Garnet Hathaway

Anthony Mantha -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson

Marcus Johansson -- Connor McMichael -- T.J. Oshie

Lars Eller -- Nic Dowd -- Johan Larsson

Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen

Trevor van Riemsdyk -- Justin Schultz

Vitek Vanecek

Points: David Pastrnak -- 72

Goals: David Pastrnak -- 38

Assists: Charlie McAvoy -- 43

Goalie: Jeremy Swayman -- 20-10-3, 2.29 GAA, .918 SV%

Points: Alex Ovechkin -- 82

Goals: Alex Ovechkin -- 44

Assists: John Carlson -- 48

Goalie: Vitek Vanecek -- 17-11-5, 2.60 GAA, .911 SV%