The NHL's best and worst Over/Under teams

We’re entering the NHL All-Star break, which gives us an opportunity to look at the league's three best and worst Over/Under teams.

The Good: Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals lead the way

Washington Capitals (O/U 31-18)

The Capitals don’t just lead the NHL’s overall standings (and power rankings), they also have the best Over/Under record in the league thanks in large part to an offense that ranks fifth in goals-for per game (3.55). The Capitals’ Over/Under record currently sits at 31-18, which has been good news for bettors anticipating plenty of goals when Washington hits the ice.

Age will one day catch up to Alex Ovechkin, but it doesn’t appear to be impacting the Great Eight right now. At age 34, Ovechkin is second in NHL scoring this year with 34 goals, and is on pace for yet another 50-goal season. He continues to charge up the NHL all-time goal scoring ranks too with 692 career goals. Can he one day overtake Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals? It doesn’t seem so impossible.

Florida Panthers (O/U 30-17)

The Florida Panthers are on a roll, with six straight wins heading into the break as they look to get back into the playoffs.

The Panthers also have the second-best Over/Under record. They lead the NHL in goals-for per game at 3.67, scoring at an impressive clip. But they also give up a lot of goals, with the eighth worst goals-against per game rate (3.27 per game).

The Panthers committed a lot of money and term to goalie Sergei Bobrovsky last summer, but he has struggled mightily in his first season in Florida, with an .898 save percentage.

Nashville Predators (O/U 28-17)

The Predators have a similar story to the Panthers. Nashville scores at a nice rate, with the eighth best goals-for per game rate. But they give up a lot of goals too.

However, it's not as if those backing the Over most nights when the Predators are in action would complain about a lack of defense or goaltending.

Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros have both played more than 1,000 minutes in net for Nashville this season, and both are struggling with save percentages under the .900 mark.

Scoring hasn’t been an issue. But keeping pucks out of the net has become a serious problem for Nashville.

The Bad: Stars aren’t aligning for Over bettors

Carolina Hurricanes (O/U 21-29)

The Hurricanes play a style that may lead to success in the playoffs, but this brand isn’t doing much for bettors backing the Over when the Canes are in action.

The Hurricanes are middle of the pack for scoring, with some nice pieces in place to maintain that. On defense, they’ve been able to stifle the opposition, allowing only 28.7 shots-against per game (best in the NHL), and 2.64 goals-against per game, which is fourth best.

The Under is on a huge winning streak, hitting in each of the last seven Hurricanes games going into the break.

Dallas Stars (O/U 16-29)

Unlike the other teams we've discussed, the Stars are all about low-scoring hockey. Dallas is 27th in the league in goals-for per game. They don’t allow many goals either, giving up just 2.46 goals-against per game – the lowest rate in the entire league.

Ben Bishop is having a remarkable season with a .927 save percentage, which is a nice bump up from an already impressive career save percentage of .921.

Columbus Blue Jackets (O/U 17-32)

Columbus let Sergei Bobrovsky depart in free agency last summer. No problem.

The Blue Jackets are now paying a total of just over $2 million to two goalies – Joonas Korpisalo and the rock star Elvis Merzlikins – and they’ve both been sensational. Merzlikins has three shutouts in his last four starts from Jan. 11-18.

The Under has hit in each of the last six Blue Jackets games, and in 11 of their last 13 games since coming back from the holiday break.

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