by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Nationwide Arena, Columbus, OH
Where to watch: BSOH, NBCSWA
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Capitals -200, Blue Jackets +170
FanDuel: Capitals -225, Blue Jackets +184
BetMGM: Capitals -210, Blue Jackets +170
Caesars: Capitals -208, Blue Jackets +175
Season record
Capitals: 26-20-6
Blue Jackets: 15-32-3
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Capitals - Blue Jackets preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Capitals: lost 5-1 at Maple Leafs
Blue Jackets: lost 3-1 at Kraken
The Washington Capitals will be playing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, January 31 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, January 29 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with a score of 5-1. The Washington Capitals currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division.
Nicklas Backstrom scored, and Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on 20 shots before being pulled for the Capitals (26-20-6). Charlie Lindgren made six saves in relief.
Washington is 1-3-0 in its past four games and has not won two consecutive games since Dec. 23-27.
"Obviously, the standings are getting tight this time of year, and you want to keep climbing as much as you can," Capitals forward Conor Sheary said. "... But losing after a [win] is something we have to avoid and start stringing together some wins."
Backstrom put the Capitals ahead 1-0 at 17:17 of the first period when he received a pass from Marcus Johansson along the boards, skated to the right face-off dot, and shot glove side for a power-play goal. It was Backstrom's first goal of the season in his ninth game after missing 42 games because of hip resurfacing surgery.
"We had a good first period, but we gave it away in the second there," Backstrom said. "It's tough to come back when they score four goals during the second. You're not going to win hockey games when you play like that.
"It doesn't feel good, that's for sure. We played a good game against Pittsburgh (3-2 shootout win on Thursday), 60 minutes, and obviously, we didn't tonight. At the end of the day, we have to regroup here going to Columbus for the next one and finish off strong before the (All-Star) break."
"I thought the first period was good, the second period, we didn't do the right things defensively, and it burned us," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said.
"It was out of position, wrong assignment, and it caught us. I don't think it was an overwhelming amount of pressure, but at the end of the day, it's about details, and I think the details in the second period were not good enough."
The Washington Capitals have won four of their last 10 games.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost against the Seattle Kraken last Saturday, January 28 at Climate Pledge Arena with a score of 3-1. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently rank 8th in the Division.
Kent Johnson scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves for the Blue Jackets (15-32-3), who finished 1-2-1 on their road trip.
"Ran into turnovers in the first period," Columbus forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "Elvis saved our bacon there one too many times tonight. And then the second, we got a big goal from [Johnson] to make it 2-1, thought we pushed into the third, but they found a way to make it 3-1."
Johnson cut Seattle’s lead to 2-1 at 18:58, scoring with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 10th goal of the season.
"We're all playing 82 games," Gaudreau said. "We're already in the middle of the season, and we all go through those stretches where you're playing a lot of hockey on the road, so we got to come prepared a little bit better."
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
I thought Columbus would find some momentum before the break. Much like this whole year, they've lied to us. Washington rolls. Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 1
The Washington Capitals will be playing the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, January 31 in Columbus, Ohio.
The Washington Capitals lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, January 29 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with a score of 5-1. The Washington Capitals currently rank 4th in the Metropolitan Division.
Nicklas Backstrom scored, and Darcy Kuemper allowed four goals on 20 shots before being pulled for the Capitals (26-20-6). Charlie Lindgren made six saves in relief.
Washington is 1-3-0 in its past four games and has not won two consecutive games since Dec. 23-27.
"Obviously, the standings are getting tight this time of year, and you want to keep climbing as much as you can," Capitals forward Conor Sheary said. "... But losing after a [win] is something we have to avoid and start stringing together some wins."
Backstrom put the Capitals ahead 1-0 at 17:17 of the first period when he received a pass from Marcus Johansson along the boards, skated to the right face-off dot, and shot glove side for a power-play goal. It was Backstrom's first goal of the season in his ninth game after missing 42 games because of hip resurfacing surgery.
"We had a good first period, but we gave it away in the second there," Backstrom said. "It's tough to come back when they score four goals during the second. You're not going to win hockey games when you play like that.
"It doesn't feel good, that's for sure. We played a good game against Pittsburgh (3-2 shootout win on Thursday), 60 minutes, and obviously, we didn't tonight. At the end of the day, we have to regroup here going to Columbus for the next one and finish off strong before the (All-Star) break."
"I thought the first period was good, the second period, we didn't do the right things defensively, and it burned us," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said.
"It was out of position, wrong assignment, and it caught us. I don't think it was an overwhelming amount of pressure, but at the end of the day, it's about details, and I think the details in the second period were not good enough."
The Washington Capitals have won four of their last 10 games.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost against the Seattle Kraken last Saturday, January 28 at Climate Pledge Arena with a score of 3-1. The Columbus Blue Jackets currently rank 8th in the Division.
Kent Johnson scored, and Elvis Merzlikins made 28 saves for the Blue Jackets (15-32-3), who finished 1-2-1 on their road trip.
"Ran into turnovers in the first period," Columbus forward Johnny Gaudreau said. "Elvis saved our bacon there one too many times tonight. And then the second, we got a big goal from [Johnson] to make it 2-1, thought we pushed into the third, but they found a way to make it 3-1."
Johnson cut Seattle’s lead to 2-1 at 18:58, scoring with a wrist shot from the high slot for his 10th goal of the season.
"We're all playing 82 games," Gaudreau said. "We're already in the middle of the season, and we all go through those stretches where you're playing a lot of hockey on the road, so we got to come prepared a little bit better."
The Columbus Blue Jackets have won three of their last 10 games.
Prediction
I thought Columbus would find some momentum before the break. Much like this whole year, they've lied to us. Washington rolls. Capitals 4, Blue Jackets 1
Betting trends
Capitals are 17-12 off an under this season.
Capitals are 20-23 off a road loss the last 3 seasons.
Blue Jackets are 4-19 off an under this season.
Blue Jackets are 1-12 off a road loss by 2 goals or more this season.
Projected lines
Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Conor Sheary -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Anthony Mantha
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Marcus Johansson
Nicolas Aube-Kubel -- Lars Eller -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin -- Martin Fehervary
Darcy Kuemper
Alex Ovechkin -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Conor Sheary -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Anthony Mantha
Sonny Milano -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Marcus Johansson
Nicolas Aube-Kubel -- Lars Eller -- Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin -- Martin Fehervary
Darcy Kuemper
Blue Jackets:
Johnny Gaudreau -- Boone Jenner -- Patrik Laine
Kirill Marchenko -- Cole Sillinger -- Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy -- Jack Roslovic -- Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni -- Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther -- Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
Johnny Gaudreau -- Boone Jenner -- Patrik Laine
Kirill Marchenko -- Cole Sillinger -- Kent Johnson
Liam Foudy -- Jack Roslovic -- Emil Bemstrom
Eric Robinson -- Sean Kuraly -- Mathieu Olivier
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Andrew Peeke
Tim Berni -- Erik Gudbranson
Gavin Bayreuther -- Adam Boqvist
Elvis Merzlikins
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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.
