The Washington Capitals will travel to St. Paul, Minnesota to face the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center with the puck dropping at 8:00 PM ET on Tuesday and will air on Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Washington is in 5^th place in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 22-16-6 and 50 points which also gives them the 10^th best record in the Eastern Conference following a 0-3 shutout loss on the road against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday which also ended their two-game winning streak. The Capitals have had one of the worst offensive productions in the league this season as they are averaging the 3^rd fewest goals per game and have the 6^th worst power-play success rate in the NHL with an 85.83 power-play success rate and an average of 2.41 goals per game. 

However, the Capitals have been one of the best defensive teams in the NHL as they are allowing an average of 2.95 goals per game which ranks 12^th, and have a penalty-kill percentage of 80.74% which is the 12^th best penalty-kill percentage in the league. Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strom are tied for the team lead in points with 28 while Dylan Strome leads the team in goals with 16 goals this season. The Washington Capitals will look to bounce back following Saturday’s loss against the Blues when they travel to face the Minnesota Wild.

The Minnesota Wild enter this game with a record of 20-21-5 and 45 points which puts them in 7^th place in the Central Division and gives them the 4^th worst record in the Western Conference, however, they are on a two-game winning streak following a 5-2 win on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Minnesota has been a below-average team offensively this season as they rank 23^rd in goals per game and 16^th in power-play success rate with a 21.05% power-play success rate and an average of 3 goals per game. 

Defensively, the Wild have been one of the worst teams in the NHL as they are allowing the 7^th most goals per game and have the 2^nd worst penalty-kill percentage with an average of 3.44 goals allowed per game and a 72.08% penalty-kill percentage. Kirill Kaprizov has been one of the better players on the team as he leads the team in points and is tied for the 2^nd most assists while having the 2^nd most goals on the team with 18 goals, 24 assists, and 42 points on the year. The Minnesota Wild will look to extend their winning streak to three games when they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday evening.

BookMaker has the Minnesota Wild listed as -160 moneyline favorites at home against the Washington Capitals on Tuesday evening. The teams are 5-4-1 in the last ten while the Wild are 2-0-1 in the last three meetings. The teams are averaging 2.9 goals per game apiece in the last ten while the Wild have won by an average margin of 1 goal per game in the last three games in the series.

Washington enters this game with the better record, however, Minnesota has been the hotter team as they enter this game on a two-game winning streak and have been the better team most recently in the series, going 2-0-1 in the last three matchups. The Wild have won by an average margin of 1 goal per game over the last three games in the series. As a result, I am taking the moneyline for the Minnesota Wild when they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday evening.