The Edmonton Oilers have fallen on hard times again as they currently sit ninth in the West and are 2-6 SU in their last eight heading into Wednesday’s matchup with Washington Capitals who knocked off the Flames last night.
Can the Oilers take advantage of a huge schedule spot tonight? Can the Capitals sweep Alberta and pick up their fourth straight win? Find out in our free NHL picks and predictions for Capitals vs. Oilers.
Capitals vs Oilers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Oilers opened as -130 favorites on the ML with a total of 6.5 and leans to the Under. These teams met back on February 2 with Edmonton closing as -120 road favorites in a 5-3 victory. That total also closed at 6.5.
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 Oilers predictions
Predictions made on 3/9/2022 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Capitals vs Oilers game info
• Location: Capital One Arena, Washington, D.C.
• Date: Wednesday, March 9, 2022
• Puck drop: 5:00 p.m. ET
• TV: TNT/Sportsnet
Capitals vs Oilers betting preview
Key injuries
Capitals: Carl Hagelin F (Out).
Oilers: Mike Smith G (Questionable), Evan Bouchard D (Questionable), Tyson Barrie D (Out), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins F (Out), Kris Russell D (Out), Jesse Puljujarvi F (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Capitals vs Oilers head-to-head record since 2015-16
Capitals: 6-4 SU, 29 goals for.
Oilers: 4-6 SU, 27 goals for.
Betting trend to know
The Capitals are 4-1 SU in their last five games as a road underdog. Find more NHL betting trends for Capitals vs. Oilers.
Capitals vs Oilers picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The up-and-down nature of the Oilers' season continues heading into Wednesday’s meeting with the visiting Washington Capitals. Edmonton has dropped six of its last eight games and currently finds itself outside of the playoff picture in the West.
The Oilers’ offense has scored more than three goals just once over those eight games and has potted a total of three goals over its last two in which Edmonton was outscored 8 to 3. Injuries are starting to stack up for the home side as well and could play a big factor tonight.
Edmonton is thin at the blue line with injuries to Tyson Barrie (Out), Kris Russell (Out), and Evan Boucher (Questionable). Up front, missing Jesse Puljujarvi and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is also a big blow to this offense as both players had power-play roles, and Nugent-Hopkins centered the third line which was helping this team stretch its scoring and diminish its reliance on Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.
Speaking of the dynamic duo, McDavid and Draisaitl have a combined 18 points over the last eight games but the secondary scoring has dried up, the defense is thin, and the goaltending hasn’t been spectacular, to say the least.
The Washington offense is scoring 3.40 goals per game over the last 30 days and gets to see either Mikko Koskinen or Stuart Skinner with Mike Smith questionable after missing the previous 3-1 loss to Calgary. \
Koskinen is their best option right now, but he's allowed at least three goals in five of his last six starts. Edmonton won the last meeting 5-3 but had a lot of help from players who won’t be in the lineup tonight, including RNH who had two goals and an assist.
Washington has won three straight games including last night’s dramatic 5-4 win versus the Flames in Calgary. Washington scored five goals in the game’s final 30 minutes against a Calgary team that has the best GAA at home in the conference. Washington got goals from all four lines in that game.
Even if the Caps can’t get their 5-on-5 game going versus an Oilers team that allows the 11th-most even-strength goals per game, the power play is likely to find its mark. The Caps’ PP is scoring at 25% since February 1, and gets to see an Edmonton penalty kill that has surrendered 12 power-play goals over its last 10 games. Edmonton has killed just six of its last 10 penalties and has given up a PP goal in three straight games.
Ilya Samsonov hasn’t played since getting pulled in Toronto back on Feb 28 and is in line to start tonight. He took some time off to deal with an upper-body injury and is ready to get back in and push for starts with Vitek Vanecek. Samsonov is 10-4-1 across 16 road starts this season.
Edmonton was -120 on the road in Washington in the last meeting and is now -130 home favorites versus a back-to-back team. That might seem like a line discrepancy, but Edmonton is one of its ruts and Washington was also on the back end of a back-to-back in that last meeting.
We are leaning on the visitors tonight as injuries aren’t helping the Oilers, but will likely keep it at a lean with the Capitals coming off a huge win last night and Samsonov not having played in 10 days.
Prediction: Capitals ML (+110)
Over/Under analysis
This game draws very similar comparisons to the previous meeting. Washington was coming off a big win the previous night in the last meeting and rolled with Samsonov in net. The Washington goalie was pulled after allowing three goals in four shots. That Over 6.5 closed at +100 and hit with a game that saw four goals in the first frame.
Washington is 3-1 to the Over in its last four games and has totaled 17 goals over that stretch including three goals versus the Leafs, five vs. the Hurricanes, and five against the Flames last night.
Alex Ovechkin has four goals over his last three games and seven points over his last four games. He’s heating up and currently sits fourth in MVP betting odds at +700. This is a Washington team that's getting scoring up and down the lineup and is hard to match up against.
With so much emphasis on the top lines for scoring for the Oilers, getting the last change is massive for McDavid and Draisaitl. Washington struggled to slow down the top line in Calgary last night (two goals) and the two top scorers for the home side know they need to produce to get this shorthanded team into the postseason. Both players’ usage has ticked up of late. Without Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton might be running a shorter bench tonight.
We could see both teams hitting the three-goal mark which is ideal with totals of 6.5. Although neither goalie has been confirmed, both teams aren’t elite at stopping pucks, and a matchup that could feature Koskinen vs. Samsonov could produce another seven or eight goals just like the last meeting.
We could certainly see this total ticking up in price as the day progresses. Over the last 30 days, Overs are hitting at 59% and 63.5% over the last week.
Prediction: Over 6.5 (+100)
Best bet
Scoring is up across the league and we could easily see some two-way scoring tonight in Edmonton. Ovechkin and McDavid have been filling the scoresheet of late and a date between two of the best could really help drive this Over.
Goaltending is an issue for both teams — especially if Washington goes with Samsonov — while the Oilers’ issues on the blue line should prevent this game from being a low-scoring affair. In a game that features three of the top-six betting favorites for the Rocket Richard Trophy, we’re hitting the Over 6.5 at even money.
Pick: Over 6.5 (+100)
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