The Minnesota Wild (39-22-8) welcome the Washington Capitals (33-30-7) at Xcel Energy Center on Sunday. Washington is coming off a 5-2 loss against the Blues on Friday. The Capitals committed only one penalty in the game, holding St. Louis without a power play goal.
Martin Fehervary and Nicklas Backstrom both scored once for the Capitals. Darcy Kuemper only had 17 saves on 21 shots against (.809%) in the loss. Minnesota is playing the second of a back-to-back after suffering a 5-2 loss against the Bruins yesterday.
Marcus Johansson and Oskar Sundqvist both scored once for the Wild. Johansson added an assist to lead the team in scoring. Filip Gustavsson only had 33 saves on 37 shots against (.891%) in the loss.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Wild won the first meeting between the teams this season, a 4-2 victory in January, their third straight win against Washington. Jared Spurgeon (2G 0A) and Connor Dewar (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Minnesota. Fehervary (1G 1A) and Alex Ovechkin (0G 2A) each had two points to lead Washington. Gustavsson got the win, saving 34 of 36 shots (.944%).
FACING OFF
Washington is averaging 3.09 goals per game for the season, 20th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Wild team that is allowing only 2.67 goals a game (5th). Meanwhile, Minnesota has found the net 2.87 times a game on average, 24th in the league, and the Capitals are allowing opponents to score 3.01 goals per game (14th).
The Wild’s 22.69% power play percentage ranks 10th in the league, while the Capitals are 19th with a conversion rate of 20.83%. When it comes to penalty killing, Washington has the league’s seventh-ranked PK% at 82.81%, while Minnesota is 13th at 80.82%.
TOP PERFORMERS:
With 65 points this season, Ovechkin is the top skater for the Capitals. He is among the league leaders with 37 goals (10th) and has added 28 assists. In the net, Kuemper (20-22-5) is Washington’s top goaltender by goals against average. He has a 2.77 GAA and a .910% save percentage.
Kirill Kaprizov leads the Wild in scoring with 74 points. He has 39 goals (7th) and 35 assists in 65 games. Marc-Andre Fleury (22-13-3) is the top goalie for Minnesota with a goals against average of 2.82. He has a save percentage of .908%.
HOME AND AWAY
Washington is 17-16-3 away from home this season. Minnesota is 21-11-3 at Xcel Energy Center this season. Meanwhile, the Wild are 5-5 without a day off and 4-3 playing with a rest disadvantage. The Capitals are 2-1 with a rest advantage.
SportsTips’ NHL Pick:
Minnesota Wild (-155)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
