Ryan Hodges
The penultimate Sunday in the NHL’s 2024-25 regular season brings a fantastic 8-game slate. But for all intents and purposes, all eyes will be on the 12:30PM ET matchup between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. On Friday, Alexander Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for all-time goals scored with his 894th career goal. The hockey world will be locked in on this game in anticipation of witnessing history if Ovechkin can collect the new record-setting 895th goal.
If you will be tuning in as well and want to have some added stakes yourself, here is a same-game parlay we like which includes the legend, Ovechkin, himself. Let’s dive in, and don’t forget you can also get our expert NHL picks for the games on Sunday.
Capitals -1.5 (+180)
Over 6.5 (+105)
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goalscorer (+100)
Capitals vs Islanders Same Game Parlay odds: +625
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Capitals -1.5 (+180)
It has been a special season for the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin’s record goal chase has just been the tip of the spear. Washington has been arguably the best team in the Eastern Conference this season and has a chance to win the President’s Trophy. They enter this game in continued solid form with an 11-4-1 record in their last 16 games. It is a favorable matchup for the Capitals as the Islanders have just 1 win in their last 7 games, as well as 1 win in their last 5 played at home.
In the Islanders’ last 5 games, they have 4 losses by a combined 10 goals. That is an average loss by 2.5 goals. Lately, when the Islanders lose, it has not been close. They have been getting bullied. Meanwhile, the Capitals have scored 4+ goals in 3 out of their last 4 games, and they will have plenty of jump in their step to produce offensively to set up Ovechkin. Washington is 24-10-3 on the road this season, including 23-14 against the spread in road games. The Capitals are the better team in better form that have a favorable matchup and a big intangible advantage in addition to their tangible advantages. Washington is the more reliable play in this one.
Over 6.5 (+105)
The over has been rolling for both teams lately. The total has gone over in Washington’s last 5 games, as well as in 8 out of New York’s last 10 games. In their respective last 10 games, the over is 14-5-1 in those combined 20 games. Included in that span, the over is 8-3-1 in Islanders home games combined with Capitals road games. For the Capitals, the totals have climbed due to a bit of volatility on both sides of the puck. For the Islanders, the totals have climbed due primarily to a lack of goal prevention.
The Capitals have either scored or allowed 4+ goals in 9 out of their last 11 games. They are 7-3-1 in that span, so it is majority scoring in bunches. But even Washington’s last 2 losses have had an average game total of 9.5 goals. Regardless of opponent or outcome, the over has appeal in Capitals games. The same is true for Islanders games lately due to allowing goals in bunches. They have allowed 29 goals in their last 7 games for an average of 4.14 goals allowed per game during that span. That does not leave much work remaining for them to help bring the total over. The pure matchup and recent trends bode well for another higher total in this one.
Alexander Ovechkin anytime goalscorer (+100)
While it would almost be sacrilegious not to take Ovechkin for an anytime goal, it actually does make a lot of sense. Even in a world where Ovechkin was not making history, his performance, both all season and recently, makes him one of the primary players in the NHL worth taking a goal prop game in and game out. Ovechkin missed time with a broken leg this season and still has scored the 3rd most goals in the NHL with 41 thus far. Entering this game, he has scored in 4 straight games with 5 goals and 8 points over that span.
The strong recent form for Ovechkin gives this prop even more appeal given the aforementioned poor goal prevention of the Islanders. If the Islanders continue to give up anywhere near their recent averages of goals allowed, there is a good chance Ovechkin will have been a contributor. New York’s season-long metrics are not much better as they rank 19th in the NHL in goals allowed per game and 28th in penalty kill. Ovechkin and the Capitals are rolling offensively and are forcing the puck to him to get this record. Today has a good chance to be the day the NHL has a new all-time goal scorer.
