Colorado Avalanche - Washington Capitals predictions and free betting tips [25/01/2024]

The National Hockey League regular championship 2023/2024. This is one of the major matches on Wednesday American time and Thursday as per Greenwich Mean Time. Colorado Avalanche will be hosting Washington Capitals at home.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche, one of the main contenders for the Stanley cup and essentially, the main player over recent years, has been struggling with injuries or other such stories, for instance with Valeri Nichushkin. They haven't managed to put together a full squad yet. Out of the last five matches, he was good in three and Colorado won. When he didn't perform well, they incurred two losses. It can be agreed that everything here heavily depends on his performance.

Colorado currently resides in the second position in the Central Division. After 47 matches they have amassed 63 points. With a solid statistic of 30 wins - the second-place score in the West, 14 defeats which is joint fifth place in the West with Vegas and also three losses with a point. Their goal difference has been suffering somewhat recently, only 29, merely the fifth result in the conference.

Washington Capitals 

Undoubtedly for the Russian fan, this team is centered on one question, "Has Ovechkin scored and how far is he from the record?" and much more. The team of Washington itself does not intrigue fans so much, but that's not surprising as the team right now, at the least, is fighting for a playoff. This is apparent from their last five matches, where Washington lost three out of five. Notably, they have a tendency to win and lose in series, two victories followed by two defeats, even Kuznetsov's brilliant pass didn't help.

It's also worth noting this match will be Washington's second straight match in a schedule known as a back-to-back, so they might be short of energy. At the moment, Washington ranks fifth in the Wild Card race or about 11th in the conference, after 45 matches they have 50 points. They earned these points from 22 victories, with a further six matches lost beyond the regulation time. The other 17 matches were lost without any bonus points. Their goal difference of -29 is alarming, being second-bottom in the conference.

Head-to-Head Meetings

Over the last 21 matches in this contest, Washington holds 13 victories while Colorado has only won eight times. The teams have not faced off yet in this season.

Forecast

Here, I would definitely suggest going for an Avalanche win; their key players are returning, they've had more rest, and they just seem stronger this season.

Total Bet Forecast

If you must select a Total bet, I quite fancy the option of ITO1 (3.5). Colorado plays offensively, they score a lot, so four goals a match shouldn't be a challenge for the team.