Washington at Atlanta -150 O/U 6

The Atlanta Thrashers host the Washington Capitals tonight and it’s very easy to look at the Thrashers 5-9 overall record and ask yourself why they are favored by this much.  The answer is very simple, since firing head coach Bob Hartley the Thrashers are 5-3 but the more amazing thing about it is the schedule that Atlanta had to endure to start this season.  They’ve only played 4 out of their first fourteen games at home to start this season.  That makes them a team that has been playing .500 or better hockey on the road since GM Don Waddell took over as the head coach.  A lot of the Thrashers success has to do with the play of Ilya Kovalchuk.  Kovalchuk has a chance to record his third straight hat trick tonight against the Capitals.  It is believed that no player in NHL history has ever had three straight hat tricks. If anyone can do it, he can as he’s scored more goals than any player in the NHL since 2001-02 with 214.  The Thrashers are also catching the Capitals in the second game in set of back to back road games.  The Capitals reached a new low Monday night as they suffered their worst loss of the season, 5-0 against Carolina. The Capitals are 3-5 on the road and have lost four out of their last five games on the road and I don’t expect anything to change tonight.  Look for Atlanta to get the win tonight over their division rival.  Recommendation: Atlanta

For more NHL analysis and free plays by Jared Klein, go to www.sportsmemo.com.