Washington Capitals vs San Jose Sharks Prediction: Expect a win for the home team

Prediction for the NHL Washington Capitals vs San Jose Sharks match, which will take place on February 12. Check the team conditions and choose several betting options.

Washington continues to struggle to make the playoffs. The current regular season has been incredibly difficult for the Capitals, as they still haven't played in their optimal lineup due to constant injuries to their leading hockey players. Nevertheless, lately, the team has been showing promising results with three wins in four previous games, and the day before, they beat Boston 2:1. Washington is now in seventh place in the Eastern Conference standings.

Alas, another regular season for the San Jose Sharks is going badly. If the year before, at least the Sharks had a good start, placing close to the top eight teams, and then ruined their chances of making the playoffs, now, from the very beginning of the season, they have serious trouble with their results. The Californian's problems continue to this day, as they had a disappointing stretch in the second half of January, losing seven out of eight games. They beat Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay 6:4 and 4:3 in their last three meetings, respectively, but the day before, they lost to Florida 1:4, which left San Jose in 13th place in the Western Conference.

Washington and San Jose are not doing well in the current regular season. The only difference is that the Capitals are still desperately fighting for a playoff spot, while the Sharks have no realistic chance of making it into the top eight in the Cup. Tournament motivation becomes especially important in the second half of the season. The Red and Blue are making good progress right now. They have less than half their roster in the injured reserve, so that they can count on success. We can bet on a Washington win.

We should not expect high-scoring activity from the upcoming confrontation. As we mentioned earlier, the playoffs are nearly starting for Washington. Any stumble could complicate their chances of making the playoffs even more difficult. In the previous five games with the Capitals, only 24 goals were scored (4.80 on average per game), and in the last five home games, even less - 20 goals (4.00 on average per game). On this basis, we consider a total under 5.5 pucks, and separately we should bet on a total over 0.5 points by Dmitry Orlov.