A pair of well-rested teams will meet Wednesday night as the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals will battle in a West vs. East showdown. These two teams saw each other on December 2 with the Blackhawks winning in a shootout, 4-3, as heavy +170 road underdogs.
Can the Capitals be better than a .500 team over the last two weeks and get Nicklas Backstrom back in the lineup? Can Chicago maintain its competitive play of late and cash as a home dog? Find out in our free picks, predictions and NHL odds for Capitals vs. Blackhawks.
Capitals vs Blackhawks odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Washington opened at -150 on the ML for Wednesday’s road game with a total of 6 leaning to the Under. The Caps closed as -190 home favorites back on a December 6 meeting. That total closed at 6 (-110).
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.
Capitals vs Blackhawks predictions
Predictions made on 12/14/2021 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Capitals vs Blackhawks game info
• Location: United Center, Chicago, IL
• Date: Wednesday, December 15, 2021
• Puck drop: 8:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Rogers Sportsnet, NBCSCH, NBCSWA
Capitals vs Blackhawks betting preview
Injuries
Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom F (Questionable), Tom Wilson F (Questionable), Garnet Hathaway F (Out).
Blackhawks: Caleb Jones D (Questionable), Henrik Borgstrom F (Questionable), Jujhar Khaira F (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Capitals vs Blackhawks head-to-head record (since 2016)
Capitals: 5-4 SU, 35 goals for.
Blackhawks: 4-5 SU, 31 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 5-1 in Blackhawks’ last six home games. Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Blackhawks.
Capitals vs Blackhawks 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 Capitals will be looking to avenge a 4-3 shootout loss to Chicago two weeks ago which was just one of a handful of inconsistent games by Peter Laviolette’s club of late. The Capitals have been a .500 team over their last six games with victories over the Blue Jackets, Ducks and Sabres. Ever since the Capitals’ 5-4 collapse to the Panthers, the Capitals have gone 0 for 10 on the power play, are scoring 2.83 goals per game while allowing 3.00 goals and have killed six of their last nine penalties.
Nicklas Backstrom has been practicing with the team and is truly questionable ahead of Wednesday’s battle. Tom Wilson is also questionable with an upper-body injury. With a power play that has dried up, Washington could struggle offensively against Marc-Andre Fleury and the Blackhawks.
The reigning Vezina winner is just 5-3 SU in his last eight starts but owns a 1.98 GAA to go along with a .934 SV%. His last start was on December 9 which was a 30-save shutout of the Canadiens. Fleury is a huge reason why the Hawks are 9-6 SU in their last 15 after starting the season 1-11 SU.
The Hawks are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league but showed on Saturday that they can score at even strength. Facing a careless Torornot team, Chicago managed four 5-on-5 goals in a 5-4 loss that was more lucky than good for the Leafs. Chicago trailed 4-1 in that game before tying things up in the third thanks to three straight even-strength goals. Outside of their 6-2 loss to New York, Chicago has played competitively in eight straight and has ML wins at -140, +135, +172, +132 and +129 in its last 10.
The last meeting saw the Hawks go 1 for 2 on the power play and tie things up in the third period before winning in a shootout. Washington did control the play and won the xgoal battle 3.57 to 2.72, but Fleury finished with 0.57 goals saved above expected and is the biggest advantage Chicago has going into the rematch Wednesday.
Both Washington goalies have a GAA above 2.80 since November 21 while Ilya Samsonov’s 11-3 SU record could very well be regressing to where his peripherals are.
Possibly missing Wilson and Backstrom and struggling to score on the power play, Chicago is a live home dog at +130. The Capitals have drawn just eight power plays over their last five games and are 3-3 SU in their last six with two of those wins coming in extra time.
Prediction: Blackhawks ML (+130)
Over/Under analysis
The last meeting closed with a total of 6 (-110) and finished with seven total goals (6.29 xgoals). Chicago is 3-8-1 O/U at home this season and is averaging 2.20 goals for. They ran into a hot Toronto team that was missing two starting defensemen and playing their backup goalie last Saturday. Both clubs have also been off since Saturday so Wednesday’s game could start off a little slow as it could take a few shifts to get up to game speed after a pretty decent rest.
This total opened at 6 and leans heavily to the Under. The market is predicting a different outcome than the last meeting and if Chicago is to win, the Under is a good outcome as the home team is 7-2-1 to the Under over its 10 wins on the season.
Keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoresheet is likely a good strategy for a Chicago win and the Under. The Russian forward has just one goal in his last six games and zero power-play points over his last seven games. He had one assist in the previous meeting while Nic Dowd (Out) and Garnet Hathaway (Out) socred the others.
Betting the total with Chicago can be a roller coaster as it scores at the lowest rate in the league at 5-on-5 but allows goals at a Top-10 rank. The Capitals are the highest-scoring team at even strength but with the market being a little bullish on the Under we also lean to the Under but are keeping our wallets away from this total.
Prediction: Under 6 (-120)
Best bet
Chicago showed it can hang with the Capitals in the previous meeting and we’re getting a similar price as that matchup. The Hawks have been involved in a ton of competitive games of late as eight of their last 10 matches have been decided by one goal (or had an empty netter). Many bettors are still thinking this is the same team that started the season on a nine-game losing streak, but since November 7, Chicago has a better point percentage than the Florida Panthers.
They may be a top-line dependent scoring team but with decent showings of late and facing a Washington team with average goaltending and missing some Top-6 talent, this underrated Hawks team is a good home dog bet on a small Wednesday NHL slate. Fleury has the potential to steal this game as well.
Pick: Blackhawks ML +130
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