Washington Capitals vs. Columbus Blue Jackets January 31 Betting Preview

The NHL is essentially already on break with the All-Star festivities coming up this weekend, as there was only one game on Monday and there's just five total games on Tuesday and Wednesday before the break. The Columbus Blue Jackets (15-32-3) host the Washington Capitals (26-20-6) in one of those games on Tuesday.

Columbus is 3-6-1 in its last 10 games and have lost back-to-back games to the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks. The Blue Jackets are in last place in the NHL standings, one point behind the Chicago Blackhawks in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Washington is two points up on the Buffalo Sabres for a wild card playoff spot.

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Washington Capitals Betting Preview

Washington has dealt with several notable injuries this season. Offseason signing Connor Brown suffered a season-ending injury in October, while veterans Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom missed the first few months of the year. Washington is now mostly healthy, but have been mired in mediocrity as of late.

The Capitals are 4-6 in their last 10 games and suffered a particularly upsetting 5-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. This is their last game until February 11, so the Capitals will be especially motivated to bank two points before the break.

Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals in scoring with 54 points (32 goals, 22 assists) in 51 games. Evgeny Kuznetsov is second with 41 points. Darcy Kuemper, the expected starting goaltender tonight, is 15-14-4 with a 2.62 goals-against average (GAA) and .915 save percentage.

Columbus Blue Jackets Betting Preview

The Blue Jackets might not be trying to tank - no team is, according to Gary Bettman - but it certainly doesn't seem that way. Columbus has held onto last place in the NHL standings nearly all season long and is clearly looking ahead to next season. This year has been a write off, but Columbus could be dangerous next season with Bedard playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau. They'll need to keep losing to ensure they have the best odds to land the first overall pick.

Columbus is a bottom-five team in goals, shots, power-play percentage, shooting percentage, goals allowed, and shots allowed. There's been few, if any, bright spots in Columbus this season. Gaudreau and Patrik Laine have at least been playing somewhat to their potential, although it's somewhat concerning that they only have 13 and 14 goals, respectively.

Joonas Korpisalo, who is expected to start for the Blue Jackets, is 8-9-2 with a 3.31 GAA and .907 save percentage this season. 

Capitals vs. Blue Jackets Odds And Prediction

As expected, the Capitals are the moneyline favorites at -218, while the Blue Jackets are paying out +175.

Washington has won three in a row against the Blue Jackets and beat them twice already in 2023. That trend will continue tonight. It might be too much to expect the Capitals to cover the puckline, but take the Washington Capitals -218 moneyline with confidence.