Washington Capitals vs. Dallas Stars Betting Guide: Holtby Faces His Former Team for the First Time

Washington Capitals vs. Dallas Stars Moneyline, Total and Odds

Moneyline: Capitals +114|Stars -137

Spread: Capitals -1.5 (-265)|Stars +205

Total: 5.5 Over -120|Under -102

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Washington Capitals vs. Dallas Stars News, Analysis, and Picks

It was just a matter of time before Braden Holtby faced his old club. Holtby departed the Washington Capitals after the 2019-20 season, moving north of the border and spending a season with the Vancouver Canucks. The season in question was mired by COVID-19, which prevented cross-border travel. That means that tonight's contest will be his first opportunity to face his former team after spending the first ten years of his career in Washington.

The Dallas Stars enter tonight's contest with solid underlying metrics. Dallas has outplayed four of their previous five opponents, getting some effective offensive performances at a team level. The Stars have scored 21 goals over their five-game sample, attempting 32 or more scoring and 13 or more quality chances in three of five. Goaltending has improved over their past two contests, with Holtby and Jake Oettinger combining to stop 63 of 65 shots. The Stars' PDO remains below average, meaning more gaudy performances could be on the horizon.

After overachieving relative to their production metrics for a big part of the season, the Capitals have been slowed down by a recent correction phase. Washington has just one goal over their past two games, scoring two or fewer in six of their previous ten. Their metrics have come down over that sample, resulting in expected goals-for ratings below 50.0% in three of six, with all three ratings coming in below 40.0%.

The Capitals will need to get their metrics working before the good results start to follow. Although they may improve their metrics tonight, we're not expecting them to get past a hot Stars team.

The Picks: Stars -137

All NHL predictions and picks are courtesy of SportsGrid.