NHL Betting Free Picks: Atlanta @ Washington
Added on Apr 01, 2010 by Jack Thurman in
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Sportsbooks offering a number of attractive NHL betting opportunities for Thursday, and we’ll take a look at an Eastern Conference matchup between the Washington Capitals and Atlanta Thrashers. Caps have already clinched the best record in the conference, and currently have a whopping 15 point margin on second place Pittsburgh. They’ve also got a 6 point advantage on San Jose for the best overall record in the NHL, though that doesn’t seem to be a major priority for the team. Atlanta is trying to make the playoffs and are currently in 9th place but trail the 6th, 7th and 8th place teams by just two points.
Atlanta Thrashers at Washington Capitals
April 1, 4:05 PM Pacific
Caps are going to be an attractive team to go against for the rest of the regular season simply because they don’t have much to play for. In theory, they’d like to beat San Jose for the league’s best record but that’s not anywhere near the priority that making a good run in the Stanley Cup playoffs is. Simply put, this is a much more important game for Atlanta. They’re currently in 9th leading the 10th place New York Rangers by 2 points. Philadelphia, Montreal and Boston are tied for the 6th through 8th spots, and neither have been playing exceptional hockey. The Thrashers can jump into the mix with a victory here. Washington never plays anything approximating ‘shutdown defense’ and though the Thrashers are porous defensively themselves they can score. That means this should be a back and forth game similar to Tuesday’s game between Washington and Ottawa. Caps have dominated the head to head play this year, which may actually work against them in this spot since it gives them even less with which to motivate themselves. All four meetings this year have gone Over the total with an average of 8 goals per game scored. A couple of options on the side–you can play the Thrashers outright looking for the big payback or take them on the puck line. We’ll go for the outright win.
Bet Atlanta +245 over Washington
Bet Atlanta/Washington Over 6′ -135
