Kings vs. Capitals Prediction, NHL Odds & Best Bets (10/20)

Fact checked at 7:57 AM ET, Oct 20, 2026

Odds as of Oct 20, 7:08 AM ET

The Los Angeles Kings are the only team in the NHL without a win. They arrive in Washington at 0-4-2 to open a five-game road trip, three days after a 4-1 home loss to Boston in which the Bruins added two late empty-net goals. Scoring is what's sinking them. Los Angeles averages 2.0 goals a game, 31st of 32 teams, and has scored exactly one goal in each of its last four games. The Kings also allow 4.17 goals a game, 30th, and their penalty kill has worked at 61.9 percent, next to last in the league. At five-on-five they've been better than that, with 13 goals allowed at even strength in six games.

Washington is 5-3-0, 4-1-0 at home, and has won the first two games of a five-game homestand, 5-4 over Montreal and 4-2 over New Jersey on Saturday. The Capitals score 3.5 goals a game, eighth in the league, and the goals come from all over the lineup: Alex Tuch has five, Boone Jenner four, Ryan Leonard three. Against the Devils, Dylan Strome, Jenner and Ilya Protas all scored, and Leonard tied the game on the power play. Justin Sourdif will miss the game with an illness, coach Spencer Carbery said Monday, and Carbery is assuming Pierre-Luc Dubois won't play either. Defenseman Matt Roy was back at full practice. Logan Thompson (4-2-0, .910) is expected in Washington's net, while Los Angeles has used Darcy Kuemper (.847) and Anton Forsberg (.883), and neither has won a game.

The Kings may get Mats Zuccarello back. Coach Peter Laviolette said Monday that he is trending toward playing, and he skated with Quinton Byfield and Trevor Moore.

The market has moved Washington's way. The Capitals opened -135 on the moneyline and have been bet to -160, with the total at 5.5. Puck drop is 7:00 PM ET at Capital One Arena.

Here's how we see it. Washington's scoring now runs through the whole lineup, and a Kings team that can't score won't keep pace. Alex Ovechkin, 41 and skating on the third line, is part of that depth now rather than the volume shooter he was. All three picks cash in that game.

Kings vs. Capitals Predictions

• Pick #1: Capitals Moneyline (-160)
• Pick #2: Ryan Leonard Over 0.5 Points (+105)
• Pick #3: Alex Ovechkin Under 2.5 Shots on Goal (+100)

PICK #1: Capitals Moneyline (-160)

Los Angeles has four goals in its last four games, and it's hard to win anywhere like that, let alone on the road against a team that's 4-1 at home.

The Kings average 2.0 goals a game, 31st of 32, and have lost all six games, two of them in overtime. Washington scores 3.5 a game, eighth in the league. Last season the Kings managed one goal in each of their two games against the Capitals, a 2-1 loss on Nov. 17 and a 3-1 loss on Dec. 2.

Goaltending tilts the same way. Thompson has a .910 save percentage in six games, while Kuemper sits at .847 and Forsberg at .883.

Laying -160 means paying for a 61.5% chance, which is a real price on a hockey moneyline. The market has gone 25 cents toward Washington since the -135 open, though, and we agree with it. Zuccarello would give the Kings a playmaker they've missed, they've pushed two of six games past regulation, and Washington is still without Sourdif and Dubois. None of that outweighs an offense this cold.

PICK #2: Ryan Leonard Over 0.5 Points (+105)

Leonard has seven points in eight games, three goals and four assists, with a point in six of them.

He gets there two ways. At even strength he plays on the fourth line, roughly 12 to 15 minutes a night, but Monday's practice had him on the top power-play unit with Tom Wilson, Strome, Ovechkin and Jakob Chychrun. Two of his three goals have come on the power play, Saturday's tying goal against the Devils included, and the Kings' penalty kill has allowed eight goals on 21 chances.

His track record backs up the hot start. Last season he had 45 points in 75 games, a point in 36 of them, and 14 power-play points.

The +105 price puts his chances at 48.8%. Given the role, the scoring rate and a Kings team that allows 4.17 goals a game, we have him above that. A quiet even-strength night with Los Angeles staying out of the box is how this loses.

PICK #3: Alex Ovechkin Under 2.5 Shots on Goal (+100)

Ovechkin has 11 shots on goal in eight games. He's stayed at two or fewer in seven of them, been shut out twice and reached three once. Last season he averaged close to three a game.

The deployment explains it. Monday's practice had him on the third line with Ilya Protas and Ivan Miroshnichenko, and he's averaging just under 14 minutes of ice time. His game has turned toward setting others up: one goal and three assists, and against New Jersey his best moment was the pass that sent Protas in for the go-ahead goal.

Nothing about the Kings points to a spike. They allow about 26.8 shots on goal a game, a middling number.

At even money this is a coin-flip price, 50.0%, on a player whose shot rate has dropped well under the line. The power play is where this pick and Leonard's overlap. Ovechkin is still on the first unit, and a Kings team that takes penalties could give him extra time there. He's had that time all season, and the shots haven't come with it.

21+ (18+ where permitted). Odds subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER.