Stadium: Capital One Arena (Washington)
07.01.2024 23:00
Prediction for the NHL match which will take place on January 7. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.
Get Your Sign-Up Bonus!Washington Capitals
Washington continues to lose ground. In the second half of December, the Capitals had a good run, which allowed them to produce a productive stretch: in seven games, they won five with two losses. It looked like they would strengthen in the playoff zone, but they've had another slump. In the last seven meetings, they won only once, beating Pittsburgh in a battle - 4:3, two more points they clinched in confrontations with Tampa Bay and Nashville, losing on shootouts - 1:2 and 2:3, respectively, and the rest of the games did not bring points. Washington now sits in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles is not going through the most successful times either. Unlike their geographic neighbors in California, the Kings are at least comfortably in the playoff zone, but not so long ago, they were leading the West, and now they are not. The reason for this is a failed stretch that came in the last few days of December and the debut of November. At that time, they lost to Vegas 2:3, Edmonton 2:3, Toronto 0:3, and the day before to Detroit 3:4. Before this, Black and White showed consistently good results. Therefore, they remain in the Cup Eight, in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
Expert Betting Tips
Washington and Los Angeles approach the head-to-head confrontation, being in bad shape. The Capitals have lost six of their last seven games, falling out of the Eastern Conference Cup Final Eight, while the Kings have already failed to win in four games, causing them to lose their lead in the Western Conference and slip to sixth place. It's worth noting that all the troubles of the Californians are related to home games, for which they are in 13th place in the conference, but on the road, they are still better in the West, having scored 27 of 32 possible points in 16 games.
The confrontation between Washington and Los Angeles in recent years is not characterized by high-goal activity. In the previous eight head-to-head meetings, the rivals combined to score only 38 for two (4.75 average per game), a very modest figure by NHL standards. Especially weak in the attack showed themselves the Capital, which in the last five battles scored only 12 pucks (2.40 average per game), with only once in this stretch distinguished more than two times.