The smothering Canes defense is slowing the Caps and proving the big storyline in this series. Washington's Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome line, in particular, thrives off of the zone-entry pass, which Carolina has been consistently denying in this matchup. When the Caps are trailing in five-on-five shot opportunities, that's usually not a good omen for them. Washington isn't likely to go away, however, and Logan Thompson has been good enough in goal to keep them in games, even like Game 2 when the Caps were outshot 33-14 but still won 3-1. Though Washington's lack of scoring in this series is an enduring trendline. Play Caps-Canes Under

We backed a desperate home team last night looking to avoid elimination -- and that didn't pan out. But Vegas certainly played with a lot more intensity, especially on the defensive end. Carolina has dominated this series for the most part and really this play is simply hoping for a possible letdown with the Canes knowing that Game 6 is back in Raleigh if needed. In the regular season, Washington was excellent after a loss -- immediately its 31 defeats, the Caps averaged 3.94 goals per game, roughly half a goal a game over their per game average of 3.49 goals per game throughout the RS. They followed their only first-round loss with a win.