Capitals vs Oilers October 24 Betting Preview: Oilers Underdogs After Back to Back Shutouts

• The Washington Capitals (7-2-2) face the Edmonton Oilers (7-2-1) Thursday night
• The Capitals have won four-straight games and have scored more goals than any other team
• The Oilers have lost two straight games failing to score in either contest

While this may look like a battle of heavyweights on paper – the first place teams in the Metro and Pacific divisions – there may be more to it once you dive deep into the numbers.

Capitals vs Oilers Odds

*Odds taken October 23, 2019

The Washington Capitals vs Edmonton Oilers odds predict a close game with the Capitals as short road favorites. The game should be a great match up to watch but I don’t think the odds currently reflect the chances each team has of winning this game. For my money, it’s a clear opportunity to make a buck on the Capitals and here’s why.

John Carlson Cannot Be Stopped

For all the firepower the Capitals possess their biggest weapon right now is actually defenseman John Carlson. He leads the league with 20 points, which is three more than the next closest player Connor McDavid.

John Carlson has two goals.

John Carlson has twenty points.

It is still October.

And this game is over.#ALLCAPS #CapsFlames pic.twitter.com/0bXPtb7ouR

— x – Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 23, 2019

Carlson has tallied a point in a career high eight straight games and there’s little evidence to suggest a depleted Oilers defense will stop that streak Thursday night. Washington ranks second in powerplay goals thanks in large part to Carlson’s job as the quarterback. Expect him to help the road team create multiple scoring chances any time Edmonton slips up and ends up in the penalty box.

Capitals Team Scoring Causing Opponents Problems

As great as Carlson has been, Washington still has the likes of Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom in their forward group. The deep lineup has tallied an NHL best 41 goals so far, with Ovechkin leading the way with seven.

https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1184620279693283338?s=20

The issue with the Capitals depth is, other teams run out of defenseman to stop the top two lines. The Oilers will use their first defense pairing against the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie unit, which leaves Oscar Klefbom and Kris Russell to stop the next line over the boards for Washington. That is a massive advantage which will surely come into play at some point in this contest.

Are Oilers a True Playoff Contender?

There’s a reason most analysts were surprised to see the Oilers off to such a hot start at the beginning of the year. They missed the playoffs by 11 points last year and outside of the addition of James Neal, did very little to improve the roster. Mike Smith was added between the pipes but he’s a low end starter that would be best suited in a time share and the defense wasn’t great before losing Adam Larson to injury.

"We've had a pretty good start but when you play a desperate team, you better play desperate yourself."

Coach Tipp assesses tonight's loss & the need to regroup as the #Oilers head home for the next two pic.twitter.com/jE5O7qa97R

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) October 23, 2019

Edmonton has lost back to back games and scored a total of zero goals during the mini slump. The sparkling record of 7-2-1 starts to come into a little bit sharper focus when you realize outside of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl there isn’t much in the way of offense to trust.

Get Aggressive and Bet the Capitals -1.5

Washington is an elite team one season removed from winning a Stanley Cup. They have the league’s best offense and a four-game win streak to lay on the line in Edmonton. I trust they’ll hand the Oilers a third straight defeat and I think they’ll do it by a wide margin.

Pick: Capitals -1.5 (+195)