Liontips
Washington vs. Boston: NHL Match Prediction
On the evening of December 31, we will see an extremely interesting match in the NHL regular season. Washington will try to beat Boston and regain the lead in the East. The Bears have their own tasks, the team from Massachusetts continues to fight for a place in the top three in the conference. Exactly a week ago, the teams met at the Bears' home arena, and then Joe Sacco charges were stronger than the capital club. Will the hosts be able to take revenge? Read our forecast
Command Analysis
Washington Capitals
USACurrent form
Washington is finishing the calendar year as the de facto leader of the Eastern Conference. The team from the US capital has 50 points in 36 games and is in second place, lagging behind New Jersey by only one point. The hosts have three games in hand, so they can easily overtake the Devils if they win the final game of the year. The Capitals alternated between defeats and victories after a successful series of games on their home ice. On the road, Alexander Ovechkin team lost to Boston (1:4), won in Canada against Toronto (5:2), and the day before they could not cope with the onslaught of Detroit (2:4). The Caps conceded four goals in the first 20 minutes and were unable to catch up with the Wings, although they dominated the entire match.
The Capitals have had problems with converting chances from time to time, but they should be resolved with the return of Alexander Ovechkin. The Great 8 scored two accurate shots in two games, but in the previous five starts, Washington has only 14 goals. Dylan Strome remains the club leading scorer with 39 points (11+28). Together with Ovi, he will be more useful on the ice.
Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren regularly alternate at the last line of defense. The goalies have blocked only 90.3% of shots and often let their partners down. Right now, it is the goal line that is the weakest point of the hosts.
Disqualifications and injuries
Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie will not take part in the upcoming match.
Interesting trends for betting
- Washington is averaging just 28 shots per game.
The Capitals don't shoot a lot, but they convert 13 percent of their shots.
- The Capitals earn 8.33 minutes of penalty time per match.
The hosts are often sent off, but play well in the minority and cope with many of their opponents' attempts
Boston Bruins
USACurrent form
Boston has begun to recover from the resignation of Jim Montgomery. The Massachusetts club is in the top eight in the East with 44 points after 38 games and is just two points behind fourth-place Florida. The Bears have been playing well this winter and have lost only four games in December. They went into the break after victories over Buffalo (3:1) and Washington (4:1), and after Christmas they exchanged blows with Columbus (2:6 and 4:0). The visitors were very unhappy with the defeat to the Blue Jackets and they left their opponents without a single chance the next day.
Brad Marchand team has been doing well in attack in the second half of December. Boston has scored at least two goals in seven games in a row, and has scored 13 times in the last four games. David Pastrnak continues to be the main link in the Bruins' attack. The Czech forward has earned 37 points (13+24) and has been a constant contributor to his team success.
The Bears have improved in terms of reliability on their half of the ice and have not allowed more than two goals in four of five games. Jeremy Swayman has found excellent form and recorded his second shutout of the season in the last game. The goalie has stopped 89.02% of the shots in his possessions in the current regular season.
Disqualifications and injuries
Hampus Lindholm won't help his partners in the US capital.
Interesting trends for betting
- The Bears are winning 52.8% of their faceoffs.
The visitors are doing well at the point and winning face-offs more often.
- The team receives an average of 10.76 minutes of penalty time.
Joe Sacco men are sent off five times per match on average.
Trends
Bet 1st period: total over 1.5 goals
In the last two games involving Washington, the first period was productive
1.78Bet 3rd period: Washington will score
The Caps have scored in the third period in three of four games.
1.45Tip and bets
Washington really wants to finish 2024 in first place in the conference and the hosts have everything to do it. Alexander Ovechkin returned to action after an injury and started scoring without any warm-up. The other hockey players are in good shape and even without their leader, the Capitals often won. Boston is good after the coaching change, but the visitors do not always have enough stability at the forefront of the attack. Not long ago, the Bears beat the Caps at home, but now the Washers must take revenge for the offensive defeat. We offer a bet on the victory of the first with a zero handicap.
Prediction - Washington win with Asian handicap (0) for 1.82
Bet on individual total
Washington is scoring 3.67 per game this season and rarely leaves the ice without at least three accurate shots. In the previous four games on home ice, the hosts scored at least three times. Boston defense is strong, but it is unlikely to be able to hold back Alexander Ovechkin squad. We believe in the attack of the team from the US capital.
We bet on Washington individual total over 2.5 goals with odds of 1.65
Total Bet
The last match between the teams could well have been productive, but the opponents revealed themselves only in the final 20 minutes. Both teams really need points to improve their positions in the conference table. In our opinion, the hockey players will not sit back in defense and the match will be bright. Let play a bet on the total over goals.
We take the total over 5.5 pucks with the coefficient 1.80
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