The Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues meet Thursday in NHL action at the Enterprise Center. The Washington Capitals need a win after losing 7 of their last 9 games. The St. Louis Blues look to build on their 4-game winning streak. 

The Washington Capitals are averaging 2.83 goals per game and are scoring on 18.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Alex Ovechkin leads Washington with 8 goals, Evgeny Kuznetsov has 11 assists and John Carlson has 40 shots on goal. Defensively, the Washington Capitals are allowing 3.17 goals per game and are killing 79.3 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Darcy Kuemper has given up 36 goals on 403 shots faced, and Charlie Lindgren has allowed 14 goals on 165 shots.

The St. Louis Blues are averaging 2.6 goals per game and are scoring on 20.5 percent of their power play opportunities. Jordan Kyrou leads St. Louis with 6 goals, Brayden Schenn has 9 assists, and Justin Faulk has 47 shots on goal. Defensively, the St. Louis Blues are allowing 3.47 goals per game and are killing 71.9 percent of their opponent’s power plays. Jordan Binnington has allowed 34 goals on 359 shots faced, and Thomas Greiss has given up 13 goals on 129 shots.

The Capitals are 0-4 in their last 4 road games and 2-7 in their last 9 overall. The Blues are 1-4 in their last 5 home games and 3-8 in their last 11 overall. The over is 3-1-1 in Capitals last 5 overall. The under is 3-1-1 in Blues last 5 overall. The Capitals are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings. The underdog is 5-1 in the last 6 meetings.

The St. Louis Blues are on the end of a back to back, but they’re coming off their best week yet, and now they’re running into a struggling Capitals side. The Washington Capitals just can’t get out of their own way, and they’ve had their biggest struggles on the road. I can’t get behind the Capitals until they get their act together. Give me the Blues at home and the reasonable price.