There's just a single game on the NHL betting board today with an afternoon showdown between the Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals. Both of these teams are playing on back-to-back days and are looking to get on track after losing four of their last five contests.
Oddsmakers are expecting Vancouver's struggles to continue with the Canucks coming into this contest as +161 road underdogs with the Over/Under at 6. Here are our best free Canucks vs. Capitals picks and predictions for Monday, January 16, with the puck dropping at 2 p.m. ET.
Canucks vs Capitals odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
The odds opened with the Capitals installed as -180 home favorites with the Over/Under at 6 and as of 10 a.m. ET the line has stayed steady. These teams haven't played against each other in more than two years, since the Canucks had a 2-1 shootout win as +164 road underdogs in November 2019.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Canucks vs Capitals predictions
Predictions made on 1/16/2022 at 10 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Canucks vs Capitals game info
• Location: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
• Date: Sunday, January 16, 2022
• Puck drop: 2:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Sportsnet, NBC Sports Washington
Canucks vs Capitals betting preview
Injuries
Canucks: Alex Chiasson RW (Out), Justin Dowling C (Out), Travis Hamonic D (Out).
Capitals: T.J. Oshie RW (Questionable), Conor Sheary LW (Out), Carl Hagelin LW (Out), Dmitry Orlov D (Out), Anthony Mantha RW (Out), Dennis Cholowski D (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Canucks vs Capitals head-to-head record
Canucks: 2-2, 12 goals for.
Capitals: 2-2, 15 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Over is 10-2 in Washington's last 12 home games. Find more NHL betting trends for Canucks vs. Capitals.
Canucks vs Capitals picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Moneyline analysis
The Canucks are coming off a 4-1 loss to Carolina yesterday and have lost three in a row, getting outscored 13-5 by tough foes in the Hurricanes, Lightning, and Panthers. Thatcher Demko allowed four goals on 33 shots in that contest and will probably start again after backup Jaroslav Halak was placed on the protocol list and career minor-leaguer Spencer Martin was added from the taxi squad.
The Capitals snapped a four-game losing streak with a 2-0 win over the Islanders yesterday which was iced by an empty-netter from Alex Ovechkin. Vitek Vanecek was in nets for that game which means Ilya Samsonov will likely get the start this afternoon. Samsonov is 13-3-3 with a 2.76 GAA and a save percentage of .903.
Vancouver reeled off seven consecutive wins in December which helped them climb out from near the bottom of the standings but their point percentage of .473 still ranks just 23rd in the NHL. Despite their recent skid, the Capitals are eighth in the league with a point percentage of .671.
Led by the ageless Ovechkin, Washington is sixth in the league in goals per 60 minutes in 5v5 hockey (2.9) while ranking fourth in goal for percentage (57.32%) and eighth in Fenwick For percentage (53.06%). Vancouver is just 29th in GF/60 (1.92) in 5-on-5 hockey, while ranking 17th in GF% (49.57%), and 14th in FF% (50.35%).
In addition to not having the offensive consistency of the Capitals, the Nucks have a few other disadvantages in this one. Demko will likely be forced to play on back-to-back days and will be given his fourth start in six days which is a strenuous workload for any goalie, let alone a 26-year-old who has never played more than 35 games in a season during his career.
Vancouver also has a history of struggling when playing on 0 days of rest, going 1-3 this season and 14-37 in their last 51 games in those situations. On the other hand, the battle-tested Capitals are 11-4 in their previous 15 games on the tail-end of a back-to-back, will have a fresh goalie, and enjoy home-ice advantage. Back the Caps to win in regulation.
Prediction: Capitals 3-way ML (-120)
Over/Under analysis
Both of these teams are talented offensively and could press a bit more on that end of the ice after struggling in that area yesterday.
The Caps have scored just eight goals in their last four games but still average an impressive 3.33 goals per game. They should be able to find the back of the net against a tired Demko who has surrendered 12 goals on just 79 shots over his last three games.
While the Canucks rank just 28th in the league with 2.46 goals per game, they are far more skilled up front than that number indicates. After a brutal start to the season, they finally came alive offensively in December, slotting at least four goals in five of their first seven games that month.
Samsonov also hasn't looked any better than Demko lately, giving up four goals in back-to-back starts. Back the Over today.
Prediction: Over 6 (+100)
Best bet
After such sluggish offensive performances from both of these squads yesterday, I'm expecting a bounce-back performance from these hungry forwards. These teams are simply too talented up front to justify scoring as rarely as they have in recent games and both have gotten inconsistent play between the pipes.
The betting trends also strongly support a higher-scoring contest with the Canucks going Over the total in five of their last seven away games and the Caps going 10-2 O/U in their previous 12 contests at home.
Pick: Over 6 (+100)
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