Avalanche, Canucks to explode offensively Wednesday

Find year-round coverage of betting news and insights for all sports by visiting our Betting section and subscribing to push notifications.

Headlined by a marquee matchup between two of the best teams in the Western Conference, we have a fun four-game slate on the docket Wednesday night.

Let's take a closer look at a couple of the best ways to attack it.

The Capitals aren't a very good team. Their recent string of success largely came against bottom-tier opponents and inflated their perceived strength.

Monday's game against the Jets - where we successfully backed Winnipeg to win inside 60 minutes - was the start of a much more difficult stretch for the Capitals. I expect they'll struggle mightily and dip out of the playoff race.

Washington isn't a good defensive team, often putting too much responsibility on its goaltenders to keep the team afloat. The Capitals don't have the offense to outscore their problems, either, sitting 29th in goals per contest this season. That's why it's hardly surprising nine of their last 11 losses have come by two goals or more.

I expect that'll be the case again Wednesday night. The Oilers own a 30-9-2 record since Dec. 1 and have controlled 56.97% of the expected goals share, putting them 0.02% back of the Panthers for the top spot.

Edmonton dominates in terms of shots and chances almost every game, and that should be the case again versus Washington. Given the massive edge the Oilers have in top-tier talent, that should translate into a healthy margin of victory.

Bet: Oilers -1.5 (-115)

This game has real potential to be a track meet. The Avalanche are an unstoppable force when they have Valeri Nichushkin and a full arsenal of weapons in the lineup.

The Avs own a 28-11-3 record and have a power-play percentage of over 26% with Nichushkin healthy. Conversely, they're just 13-9-2 and own a 20.8% power-play percentage without Nichushkin.

He recently returned for Colorado, which also bolstered its lineup significantly at the deadline. The Avs are as deep - and healthy - as they've been all season, and they draw a Canucks team missing its star goaltender.

Casey DeSmith owns a .898 save percentage and has lost more games than he's won. Suffice it to say, he's going to have his hands full with this star-studded Avalanche team.

The Canucks should score their share of goals as well. They rank third in the NHL in tallies per game and are especially lethal on home ice. Only the Avalanche, Oilers, Stars, and Lightning have scored more goals per game at home.

Alexandar Georgiev is a competent goaltender, but he hasn't been great this season. He's certainly not immune to a tough night, especially against top competition. Georgiev has conceded four-plus goals in four of his past six starts against teams in playoff position.

With an abundance of star power on the ice for both teams and an underwhelming goaltending matchup, this game should feature plenty of fireworks.

Bet: Over 6.5 (-115)

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. You can follow him on X at @ToddCordell.

Copyright (C) 2024 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.