Capitals vs Islanders Picks and Odds – August 18

Matt Barzal's OT winner in Game 3 have the Islanders up 3-0 on the Washington Capitals, seeking the sweep in Game 4. Photo from @FishermanHky (Twitter).

• The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders will face off on Tuesday, August 18 in Game 4 of their series
• Washington is down 3-0 and could be swept by the Islanders
• See the odds and best bets for this game below

The Capitals vs Islanders odds have New York favored at -105 as they seek a sweep in Game 4 of their conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday (August 18, 8pm ET). The Islanders beat Washington 2-1 in overtime in Game 3 on Sunday, to take control of the series up 3-0.

New York has the opportunity to sweep their first round playoff opponent for the second time in as many years. The Isles swept the Pittsburgh Penguins last year before suffering an identical fate in the second round at the hands of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Capitals vs Islanders Odds

Odds taken August 16

Capitals Have Won Once Since Playoffs Began

Including their round-robin performance, the Capitals have won just once since the playoffs began, currently brandishing a meager 1-3-2 record going into Game 4. Their only playoff victory was their final round-robin bout against the Boston Bruins, where the Capitals came out on top 2-1.

@NYIslanders captain #AndersLee is on target when he says Tuesday's potential series-clincher will be the toughest win of all. Fact is that the @Capitals are reeling but not fully reeled in yet. Holtby played a solid game but #Barzal has the “knack” and the goods. Momentum rules!

— Stan Fischler (@StanFischler) August 16, 2020

Washington was one of four teams to win just once in the seeding round robin, yet didn’t finish with the worst record among the Eastern Conference teams who participated. The Boston Bruins failed to win a game, going 0-3-0.

Islanders Severely Limiting Capitals Chances at Even Strength

Through three games, the Capitals have only scored five goals against the Islanders. A large part of this is because the Islanders have been severely limiting Washington’s chances at even strength.

Islanders have held the Capitals to five goals in the first three games of the series, just two at even strength (both by Ovechkin in Game 2)

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) August 16, 2020

Washington has scored just twice at five-on-five against the Islanders in this series, scoring their three other goals on the power play. A combination of superb goaltending from the Islanders, and Washington getting frustrated at failing to solve New York’s tight-knit playing system is contributing to the their inability to score against their division rivals.

Scoring Issues Plaguing Capitals

Following up on the issue of scoring, not only have the Capitals only scored just five times against the Islanders in this series, but those goals have come from just three different players—Alex Ovechkin, TJ Oshie (two goals each) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (one). In addition to the low quantity of players scoring, Washington has failed to score more than two goals in each of their last six contests.

Ovi will NEVER get tired of scoring goals. ????

He makes it 1-0 for the Caps early in Game 2. ????

(????: @Capitals) pic.twitter.com/bVXoPWXgGo

— theScore (@theScore) August 15, 2020

A big indicator of this glaring shortcoming could be the amount of shots they’re getting. Washington is currently averaging the fewest shots per game of all 24 playoff participants (24.8). This is very surprising, considering the Capitals finished 11th in this category during the regular season (32), and were second in goals scored (240).

Best Bets

While many teams in this scenario (that were still doomed for defeat) avoided getting swept, the Capitals have struggled mightily this postseason, seeming like their roster can’t adequately regroup.

Throw in the subpar performance in net we’ve seen from Braden Holtby, it’s hard to have confidence in Washington pulling off a win if the recent trends in their play has been any indication. More than likely we’ll see New York complete the sweep and advance to the next round.

The Pick: New York Islanders (-110)

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