The Calgary Flames vs. the Washington Capitals sports betting matchup will be yet another chapter in the seemingly interminable career of one Jaromir Jagr, who is “kind of a big deal.” The Czech right winger is second to just Wayne Gretzky (you may have heard of him) in all-time league scoring with 1,914 points, and the Flames will surely need his scoring prowess in order to cover the online sports wagering spread against the favoured Caps.
- Date: Monday, 20th November
- Time: 7:05 PM
- Venue: Capital One Arena
- Sportsbook odds:
Flames +1½ (-235) 5½ (-120) +120
Capitals -1½ (+195) 5½ (EV) -140
Frolik in the ice
The Flames are living up to their name by being on fire as of late, winning six of their last eight games, including a 5-4 overtime win over the Flyers on Saturday, in which centre Sean Monahan had his first hat-trick, while Michael Frolik scored the game-winning goal 1:18 into overtime. “It’s exciting because I don’t really think we’ve seen our best hockey yet,” Johnny Gaudreau, who assisted on two of Monahan’s three power-play goals, said. “I think the last game in Detroit was a little eye-opening, and we’re coming together as a team.” Added goalie Mike Smith of Monahan: “When you’re a good player in this league, the puck seems to find you. He’s a real smart player, and he knows where the puck is going to be.” Like Harry Potter and the Golden Snitch. The Flames are 5-2 in their last seven road games, 2-5 in their last seven playing on one day’s rest, 6-2 in their last eight overall, and 3-7-1 in the last 11 sports betting meetings in Washington. Calgary won the teams’ first encounter this season, 2-1 on October 29th in Calgary, with Smith besting Philipp Grubauer.
Alex Ovechkin ain’t got time to bleed
Capitals left winger Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin was pucked in the face on Saturday and bled all over the ice, but nonetheless returned in his team’s 3-1 win over the Wild because, what’s a few pints of blood among friends?
The Caps snapped a two-game skid in what was “big game for us, a big turning point,” as T.J. Oshie, who had, as did Evgeny Kuznetsov, a goal and an assist, said. “Now, we’ve got to look forward to the next challenge of maintaining this and trying to get this really ingrained in our game when we play like this,” the next challenge being of course the Flames. Oshie has 10 goals and seven assists in Washington’s first 21 games. “What makes him special in that area is that he understands it and he competes so hard in those areas to win pucks,” Washington coach Barry Trotz said. “I don’t know how many goals we’ve scored where we’ve had a [prior] chance, maybe two … and he finds a way to keep a puck alive and get into our possession, and he just needs that split second if we execute a pass.” The Caps are 41-14 in their last 55 games on one day’s rest, 19-7 in their last 26 Monday sports betting games, and 37-14 in their last 51 at home.