Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals Betting Picks

Given their multiple defensive injuries, the Hurricanes have taken a strong offensive approach. Carolina is averaging five goals a game during its past three games, all of which have gone OVER the total. Charles Alexis Legault was the latest Carolina defenseman to go down, suffering a hand injury in a 5-4 win against the Maple Leafs this past Saturday. The Hurricanes have scored three or more goals in 12 of their 15 games this season and rank third in the NHL in scoring at 3.9 goals a game. The Capitals still lead the NHL in fewest goals allowed per game, but have not been sharp defensively recently, giving up three goals to the Lightning and five goals to the Penguins during their past two games. Washington, though, is averaging 3.5 goals during its last four games. Carolina has surrendered 10 goals in its last three games. Take the OVER.

Washington faces elimination in Game 5, but the Capitals have won four of five at home in the playoffs, and the only loss was in overtime in Game 1 of this series. The urgency is with the Capitals as Carolina still has a home game left and Washington will come out firing. The Hurricanes have lost eight of their past 10 road games and they are 1-6 on the road versus teams with .600 home winning percentages. Washington has won 12 of its past 15 home contests and four of five at home against Carolina. Washington is 51-39 on the puck line its past 90 games. The Capitals will make some adjustments to try and get something going offensively, including some line changes, and they showed some life in the offensive zone on Monday when they scored twice in the third period before the Hurricanes scored two more. Take the Capitals on the puck line and the OVER.

The series' first two games easily have gone UNDER, and look for more of the same in Game 3. Washington goalie Logan Thompson has been spectacular in the playoffs with a 2.01 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. He stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Capitals' 3-1 win in Game 2 after making 31 saves in their 2-1 overtime loss in the series opener. Frederik Andersen has a 1.55 GAA and a .930 save percentage for Carolina in the postseason after stopping 18 of 20 shots on Thursday. Both teams have gone UNDER five of their past seven games. The Hurricanes are 4-1 UNDER their past five as favorites of at least -201, and the Capitals are 4-1 UNDER after allowing two or fewer goals in their previous game. Take the UNDER.