NHL Picks: Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals
I like the Vancouver Canucks. Their loss in the Stanley Cup, the riots that followed, and the collapse of Roberto Luongo basically launched me into professional journalism as page views and comments crashed the site I was freelancing with at the time. I’m a big Ryan Kesler guy as a US hockey guy, so I enjoyed following his career before he left. I follow them closely, we’ve won good money on them, and they came through with an epic loss for me. I’m also a New Jersey Devils fan, and I’m thankful for Cory Schneider… but that’s enough about me.
The Vancouver Canucks are having a highly mediocre season. They just stumbled through a lengthy home stand and have been unimpressive of late. Is Ryan Miller a thing? Still? The two-way depth is gone, the Sedin twins are old, and this is an average team.
The Vancouver Canucks should be rested after a few days off and lengthy home stand, so I’m not sure how big a factor traveling all the way across the country will be. Both teams are rested.
The Washington Capitals are probably the best team in the East right now along with the Florida Panthers. The Caps have a hot goalie and a great offense led by arguably the best scoring forward of this era. They have enough depth and a decent enough defense. This is a complete team that is playing good hockey.
All things being equal and both teams being rested, assuming the Canucks can make the time change adjustment, the Washington Capitals are just the better team. On home ice with the right to last change, they have every advantage.
I know the line is sharp, but I trust Braden Holtby and I trust the Caps for the first time in Alexander Ovechkin’s career.
Caps 4 – Canucks 2
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