The Washington Capitals (18-13-4) are heading into the Christmas break on a high note, the winners of three straight and eight of their last nine. That has the Capitals looking like they’re going to make a bit of a run in the Metropolitan when the calendar flips to 2023, as they are currently in fifth place, but also just eight points back from top-seeded Carolina.
The Winnipeg Jets (21-11-1) will take their start to the 2022/23 season, as their 43 points has them just one back from the Stars in the Central. Winnipeg is limping a bit lately, though, just 3-4 over their last seven, which draws a -155 favorite tag for the Capitals.
Winnipeg on the Road Back-to-Back
The trip from Boston to Washington D.C. isn’t a horrible excursion, but this is also a spot where Winnipeg could see themselves looking ahead a bit playing on the second leg of a back-to-back, especially with a three-day Christmas break upcoming.
The Jets had their chances in Bean Town on Thursday, getting up 2-0 before the Bruins battled all the way back to a 3-2 win. What Winnipeg is right now is consistently inconsistent, as they’ve now alternated two-goal and five-goal outputs over their last seven games (3-4). That 2-5-2-5-2-5-2 trend would leave them in line for another big offensive showing in Washington.
Not being able to hold on to a 2-0 lead on Thursday was disappointing for the Jets, considering they had Connor Hellebuyck back in net after he had missed time this week with an illness. Hellebuyck will sit on the second leg of the back-to-back, putting David Rittich in net and he’s been solid in holding opponents to one goal in two of his last three starts.
Ovechkin Aims for Gordie
Like Winnipeg, Washington is also playing on consecutive nights Friday following their 3-2 win in Ottawa on Thursday. While the Jets might be looking past this game, the Capitals are amped up as they try to push their winning streak to four games after they just had a five-game streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to Dallas last week.
Another motivator for Washington is Alex Ovechkin trying to get a goal to give him 801 for his career, which would tie Gordie Howe for a second. Ovechkin got a hat trick against the Blackhawks to get him to 800, but he’s since gone on a four-game drought.
With the Capitals being on the back-to-back, it’s looking like Charlie Lindgren in net after Darcy Kuemper started vs. the Senators. Lindgren has had a good month with just a 2.14 GAA in eight starts.
Jets at Capitals Pick
Winnipeg is a second-place team, but they haven’t played like it over the last couple weeks. It also wouldn’t be a complete surprise to see the Jets come out flat on the back-to-back and looking ahead to the Christmas break. The Capitals are trying to keep their win streak going, and perhaps get some history for Ovechkin along the way.
Pick: Capitals -1.5 (+170)
