The Nashville Predators visit the Washington Capitals in the NHL on Thursday night. Nashville had a two-game winning streak snapped in their last game and they will try to bounce back here against a Capitals team that also saw a winning streak snapped in their last outing. Here, I break down this matchup in the NHL and give you my Predators vs Capitals prediction on the ice.
Our Predators vs Capitals Pick
Over 6.5 ATS PRO
Confidence: 3/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: Nashville Predators vs Washington Capitals
Date & Time: Thursday, February 5, 2026, 7:00 PM ET
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
Both teams saw winning streaks come to an end in their last games. The Predators lost to the Minnesota Wild in overtime last time out, ending their two-game winning streak. The Capitals had a three-game winning streak ended by the Philadelphia Flyers. One of these teams will head into the Olympic break with a win, while the other will have a two-game losing streak going into the break.
Goaltending: Justus Annunen is the expected starter for Nashville. For Washington, Logan Thompson is expected to take the ice. He has been dealing with some injury issues recently, which has forced the Caps to go with a third goaltender on several occasions lately. But Thompson is back here and that could help them to look better defensively than they did in their most recent defeat.
Key skaters: Nashville’s power play has sharpened with Roman Josi quarterbacking it and Steven Stamkos as the primary scorer. Ryan O’Reilly drives the half-wall and leads the team in assists. Washington’s attack still flows through Alexander Ovechkin’s left-circle one-timer, with John Carlson facilitating and Dylan Strome driving entries and slot finds. Tom Wilson has been the Capitals’ most consistent point producer this season.
Special teams: Nashville’s power play has been the more efficient of the two units so far this season. While Washington has the advantage in most facets of the game, the Preds could use their superior power play to keep this game close if Washington is undisciplined and piles up some penalty minutes.
Betting Trends & H2H
The Predators defeated the Capitals 3-2 in Nashville in the first meeting between these teams this season.
Nashville is 11-11-4 on the road so far this season.
The Capitals are 16-10-3 on home ice heading into this contest.
Predators vs Capitals Model Projection
Score Projection: Nashville 3 – Washington 4
Win Probability: Nashville 44%, Washington 56%
Final Thoughts
My best bet for this game is for the two teams to combine to go over the total of 6.5 goals. The Capitals' offense should operate at a high enough level to get the win here, while the Preds' superior power play should help them to remain reasonabily competitive. I project a 4-3 win for the Caps here, which would give us the over on Thursday night.
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