The Washington Capitals need to snap out of yet another losing streak but it won’t be easy on Wednesday night — they face the red-hot Anaheim Ducks on NHL betting odds.
Washington (29-18-10) has dropped three consecutive games. The Capitals fell to Phoenix 3-2 on Monday, dropping the club to just 2-4-2 in its last eight games.
As has been the case all season, Washington is struggling to put pucks in the net. The Capitals have managed just three goals in their past three losses. Alexander Ovechkin has just five points in his last eight games, and four of them came in a 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay nearly two weeks ago.
Ovechkin’s disappointing season has been dissected from all angles, and there’s no doubt he needs to shake things up. His signature move during his first five years in the NHL was a breathtaking sprint into the zone, followed by a quick cut toward the net and a bullet fired on goal. Teams have figured it out and have taken the play away from Ovechkin, though, and he has refused to come up with something new.
Anaheim (32-21-4), meanwhile, is on a roll. The Ducks have won four straight games after romping Edmonton 4-0 on Sunday. Anaheim has had it going for a while now, as the Ducks are 8-2-0 in their past 10 games and have won 14 of their past 18 games.
Unlike Washington, the Ducks are having no problems scoring. They’re racked up 16 goals during their four-game winning streak. Bobby Ryan scored twice against Edmonton and has 27 goals on the year.
The only real hiccup has been Jonas Hiller. The All-Star goalie hadn’t played since Feb. 2 because of signs of fatigue, but he returned to action against the Oilers and was very solid. He only faced 12 shots, but it was nice to see him back in action.