Stephen Nover's NHL Thursday Totals Destroyer
(NHL) Columbus vs. Washington, 04/12/2018 3:30 PM, Score: 4 - 3
Total: 5.50 | -115.00 Under
Result: Win
The Capitals are a top-10 scoring team. They scored three or more goals in seven of their last eight games. Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 49 goals, John Carlson was the top-point producing defeseman and Evgeny Kuznetsov piled up 28 points during the final 18 games. So I have full confidence the Capitals will hold up their offensive end.

I'm not worried about the layoff as the Over has cashed nine of the last 10 times Washington has played with three or more days rest. I'm also not concerned about Sergei Bobrovsky in net for Columbus. He's been a lot better during the regular season than in the playoffs where he's 3-10 with a 3.63 GAA and .887 save percentage.

The Blue Jackets should hold up their end, too. They led the NHL in scoring during the final 28 games averaging 3.6 goals during this span. Only three times in their last 17 games have the Blue Jackets failed to produce a minimum of three goals per game.

In a bit of a surprise, the Capitals are going with Philipp Grubauer in net instead of Braden Holtby. Grubauer is untested in Stanley Cup action having played less than 80 minutes of playoff hockey.