Washington Capitals bets are legal and safe at Virginia’s 15 sportsbooks. Those moneyline bets on the Caps haven’t paid off lately, however. The team is on a four-game slide to start the workweek.

NHL hockey bets are still an excellent option from home, from your favorite tavern or at the sportsbook inside Capital One Arena.

Virginia fans who see a Caps game in person will have access to both a betting window and betting apps on their phone.

Will a Caps Stanley Cup bet pay off? The team finally claimed the trophy in 2018. Below find the best Washington Capitals odds as posted at online sportsbooks plus key betting insights from their latest games.

Next Up: New Jersey Devils

• Game Day: Thursday, April 13, 2024
• Game Time: 4:00 PM ET
• TV Channel: NBCS
• Location: Washington D.C.
• Arena: Capital One Arena

Betting Insights For The Devils Game

• The Capitals are 20th in the NHL in scoring (3.1 goals per game), and the Devils are seventh defensively (2.7 against).
• Washington is -7 overall in goal differential this season, 19th in the NHL.
• The Capitals average 8.5 penalty minutes per game, 14th in the NHL.

Washington’s Last 10 Games

Betting Lines And Odds For Capitals Vs. Devils

Recent Meetings With The Devils

Capitals Player Insights

• Alexander Ovechkin ranks first on Washington this season with 42 goals. He has also registered 32 assists for 74 total points.
• Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 43 assists rank first on the team, and he has added 12 goals to the offensive output.
• Tom Wilson has been called for 25 penalties and served a team-leading 78 penalty minutes.
• Darcy Kuemper has a 22-26-5 record between the pipes this season. He has saved 1490 total shots with a .909 save percentage, and has conceded 149 goals (2.8 goals against average).
• Trevor van Riemsdyk has compiled a plus-10 to lead Washington this season.

Injuries For Washington Vs New Jersey

Capitals Player Props

Capitals Upcoming Games

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Capitals player props and futures

Each time the Capitals step on the ice, you can bet on the outcome of the game and dozens of events or outcomes within it. Sportsbooks release NHL game lines with plenty of time to spare, but the odds can fluctuate before the puck drops for the opening faceoff. There are also several other popular markets to explore, including props and futures.

Prop bets are “game within the game” bets on specific accomplishments. Futures bets are on how the entire season might play out. Let’s take a closer look at how they both work.

You can generally find props at online sportsbooks or apps by clicking through on the individual game listings. Once you do that, you’ll see all of the bets available. Prop bets usually revolve around players, teams or the game as a whole. Here are some examples.

• How many goals plus assists will Alex Ovechkin have — over/under 1.5?
• Which side will have more shots in the game — Capitals or Penguins?
• Player to score the game’s first goal? (You’ll see odds for everyone in the lineup, ranging from favorites to longshots).

For futures, you can place your bets on how you think the Capitals will do for the season as a whole. Odds for futures come out in the offseason, and many of the biggest markets stay active all year round. Here are some futures odds to consider.

• Bet on the Capitals to win the Stanley Cup, conference and division.
• Over/under on Capitals regular season wins.
• Capitals players to win Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, etc.

As bets flow in, futures odds fluctuate. It’s good practice to check futures odds regularly, but you also can simply bet once and hold your ticket with the long-term view in mind.

2024-23 Washington Capitols schedule highlights

The NHL released its schedule on July 6. Washington opened its 82-game schedule on Wednesday, Oct. 12 when the Boston Bruins came to town.

• Washington will play 82 games in 184 days.
• The schedule includes a 10-day break for NHL All-Star Weekend in Florida. The skills competition is on Feb. 3. The game is on Feb. 4.
• Four consecutive games at home marked the team’s longest homestand from Nov. 5-11. The Capitals have six straight games on the road from Nov. 26 to Dec. 7.
• Other schedule highlights include some home game traditions:
  • New Year’s Eve matinee — vs. Montreal
  • Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 12) — vs. San Jose

Washington’s 2024 Stadium Series game is Saturday, Feb. 18 when they travel to Raleigh’s Carter-Finley Stadium to face the Carolina Hurricanes.

The NHL regular season draws to a close with 15 games on April 13.

Unofficially, the Stanley Cup Playoffs would begin April 17. A game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final would take place on June 18.

Caps recent draft picks/prospects

The NHL Entry Draft was held on July 7-8, 2024. Washington selected LW Ivan Miroshnichenko of the Russian club Omsk Krylia with the 20th pick overall. Over the past five years, the Caps have had four picks in round one. Here’s how they spent them:

• 2024: Ivan Miroshnichenko, LW, Omsk Kylia (Russia)
• 2021: No first round pick: Vincent Iorio, D, was their second-round pick
• 2020: Hendrix Lapierre, C, Chicoutimi Saguenéens
• 2019: Connor McMichael, C, London Knights
• 2018: Alexander Alexeyev, D, Red Deer Rebels

The Capitals have been a contender for several years running, and that doesn’t happen unless a team drafts well. Looking back, the team formed its core by nailing several of its selections.

• 2015: Ilya Samsonov, Round 1, Pick 22
• 2010: Evgeny Kuznetsov — Round 1, Pick 26
• 2008: John Carlson — Round 1, Pick 27
• 2006: Nicklas Backstrom — Round 1, Pick 4
• 2004: Alex Ovechkin — Round 1, Pick 1

The club has complemented its solid draft record with key free agent acquisitions and trades through the years. Add it all up, and it’s not too tough to see why the team has qualified for the postseason in 14 of the last 15 seasons.

Caps coaches/bench staff

Peter Laviolette was hired to lead the way for the Capitals for the 2020-21 NHL season. Prior to this, he was most recently head coach for the Nashville Predators. Laviolette has made several stops during his career.

The biggest highlight was a Stanley Cup win as the head coach for the Carolina Hurricanes in 2005-06. Naturally, there were some changes to the rest of the staff with someone new in charge, but the current crop of assistants looks like this.

• Assistant coaches: Scott Allen, Blaine Forsythe and Kevin McCarthy
• Goaltending coach: Scott Murray
• Assistant coach, video: Brett Leonhardt

If we look back over the last five hires for the Capitals on the head coaching front, there have been some hits and misses.

• Todd Reirden, 2018-20
• Barry Trotz, 2014-18
• Adam Oates, 2012-14
• Dale Hunter, 2011-12
• Bruce Boudreau, 2007-11

Trotz led the team to the Stanley Cup in 2018 and a pair of Presidents’ Trophies during his tenure, while Boudreau snagged a Presidents’ Trophy during his time, as well. Trotz and Boudreau won the Jack Adams Award for top NHL coach in 2016 and 2008, respectively.

How to watch/listen to Caps games

NBC Sports Washington is the broadcast home for Washington Capitals games. Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin call the action, while Alan May and Al Koken report from rinkside.

NBCSW is a part of numerous cable, satellite and streaming packers in the DC-Virginia area, but you should confirm availability prior to subscribing to make sure you don’t miss any of the action.

NHL games are also carried by national outlets, so you might catch a Caps game there, as well. NBC, NBCSN and NHL Network are the best places to look. Subscription service ESPN+ also covers select NHL contests throughout the season.

During the postseason, other channels in the NBCUniversal family may carry playoff games as well, a list that includes USA Network. NBC Sports Washington also provides a live stream of Capitals games online, as well as via the NBC Sports Live app.

For another streaming option, check out NHL.tv. It’s a subscription service that carries feeds of games, but note that local blackout rules may apply when the game is carried elsewhere.

On the radio side, 106.7 WJFK-FM — also known as The Fan — out of Manassas, Va., is the flagship station for Capitals games. John Walton and Ken Sabourin handle the coverage for the broadcasts, while Ben Raby serves as the studio host.

The feed of the games is picked up by a number of other stations across the region, so you shouldn’t have any trouble picking it up in your area.

• WFED-AM 1500 — Washington, DC
• WTHU-AM 1450 — Frederick/Thurmont, MD
• WFTR-AM 1450 — Front Royal, VA
• WBRG-AM 1050 — Lynchburg, VA
• WLVA-AM 580 — Lynchburg, VA
• WRNL-AM 910 — Richmond, VA
• WHAP-AM 1340 — Hopewell, VA
• WHAJ-FM 104.5 — Bluefield, WV
• WKAV-FM 94.1 — Charlottesville, VA
• WRNR-AM 740 — Martinsburg, WV
• WOYK-AM 1350 — York, PA

You can also find the audio feed for Capitals games through the TuneIn radio app, or at CapsRadio247.com.

Brief Capitals history

From 1974 to the present, it has been a long and winding road for the Capitals. While the team has made it to the postseason numerous times over that span, there is just one Stanley Cup title on the resume. Here’s a look at some of the key dates in franchise history.

• 1974: Capitals join the NHL as an expansion franchise.
• 1982: Club swings a trade with the Montreal Canadiens that changes the course of the franchise, headlined by the acquisition of Rod Langway.
• 1983: Team makes postseason for first time, losing to the New York Islanders in division semifinals.
• 1989: Capitals capture first division crown in team history, winning the Patrick Division with 92 points.
• 1990: Team reaches conference finals, where it is swept in four games by the Boston Bruins.
• 1997: Capitals move into the newly built MCI Center.
• 1997: Team streak of 14 consecutive postseason appearances is snapped.
• 1998: Capitals reach Stanley Cup final for first time in team history, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in four games.
• 2004: Capitals select Alexander Ovechkin with the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft.
• 2008: Ovechkin wins the first of three Hart Memorial trophies, also winning the award in 2009 and 2013.
• 2010: Capitals win the first of three Presidents’ trophies as top team in the regular season, also winning in 2016 and 2017.
• 2018: The Capitals finally win their first Stanley Cup with a five-game series win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

The Capitals have contributed plenty to NHL lore through the years, and a number of all-time greats have suited up for the franchise. Here are some of the more notable team and player facts and records from Capitals history.

• Stanley Cups: One, 2017-18
• Conference championships: Two, last in 2017-18
• Presidents Trophies: Three, last in 2016-17
• Division titles: 13, last in 2019-20
• Playoff appearances: 32, last in 2021-22
• Most points in season: 121, 2009-10
• Fewest points in season: 21, in the 1974-75 inaugural season
• Most goals in season: 65, Alex Ovechkin in 2007-08
• Most assists in season: 76, Dennis Maruk in 1981-82
• Most wins in season: 48, Braden Holtby in 2015-16
• Hall of Famers: Eight, most recently Sergei Fedorov and Phil Housley in 2015
• Retired numbers: Four, last for Mike Gartner in 2008

Unsurprisingly, Ovechkin is all over the Capitals record book. The franchise great shouldn’t have to wait too long for his number to hang from the rafters, or for enshrinement in the Hall of Fame once he hangs up the skates for the final time.