An important game between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers from the City of Brotherly Love on Thursday. Washington is battling for the Metropolitan Division title and is the NHL odds favorite to win it again, while the Flyers simply are hoping to get into the playoffs.
How to Bet Capitals vs Flyers NHL Betting Lines & Game Info
As the Metro Division postseason race heats up, #ALLCAPS are using these final regular season games as a chance to learn pic.twitter.com/axbWgXDWdA
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) 13 de marzo de 2019
- When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Wells Fargo Center
- TV: NHL Center Ice
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Betting Lines: Washington Capitals -135 / Philadelphia Flyers +115 (Total 6.5)
Season Series
Second of four meetings, with Washington winning each of the first two by a score of 5-3. They last played March 6 in Philly and Bradey Holtby stopped 27 shots for his 250th career victory. Holtby reached the mark in his 409th career contest to become the second-fastest goalie to get to 250 wins. Ken Dryden did it in 381 games.
Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and assist. Brett Connolly, Tom Wilson, and Andre Burakovsky also scored for the Capitals. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first, Washington pushed its lead with three goals in the first 5:37 of the second. Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist, and Scott Laughton and Philippe Myers also scored for the Flyers, whose rally from a 5-0 deficit fell short.
Why Bet on Washington?
The Caps had a seven-game winning streak snapped Tuesday at rival Pittsburgh, 5-3. Jake Guentzel started Pittsburgh’s comeback from down 2-0 in the second with his team-leading 35th of the season after Jared McCann stripped Washington center Evgeny Kuznetzov for the first of three goals in 107 seconds. Matt Murray stopped 38 shots as Pittsburgh topped the rival Capitals for the third time in four meetings this season and moved within four points of Washington in the claustrophobic Metropolitan Division.
Jakub Vrana scored twice in the loss. Vrana opened the scoring with 33 seconds left in the opening period after his shot from the right circle appeared to surprise Murray. The 23-year-old winger is up to 21 goals and 43 points in 70 games. It’s his first ever 20+goal campaign.
Alex Ovechkin earned his 1,200th career point in the loss. Ovechkin’s milestone came on John Carlson’s third-period power-play goal. He reached 1,200 points in his 1,072nd career game. He’s the 49th player to ever reach 1,200 points.
Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 29 shots. It started off great for Holtby, holding a 2-0 lead midway through the game. Holtby will see his record fall to 26-15-4 with a 2.91 goals-against-average and a .909 save percentage.
Since Feb. 1, Holtby is 9-5-1 with 2.36 goals against average and a .923 save percentage, which ranks eighth in each respective category in the NHL among goaltenders with at least 10 games played. He leads the NHL with 20 wins (20-10-2) against Eastern Conference opponents this season, with 2.41 goals against average and a .925 save percentage, which ranks second in the NHL among goaltenders with at least 25 games against the Eastern Conference.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.43
- Shots: 30.33
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.06
Defense
- Goals: 3.10
- Shots: 31.99
- PP/PK Percentage: 20.85
Why Bet on Philadelphia?
Philadelphia has kept slim playoff hopes alive with back-to-back wins. It was 5-2 over sorry Ottawa on Monday. The Flyers are 6-1-1 over their last eight and are as close to a wild-card spot as they’ve been since November before they fired general manager Ron Hextall and coach Dave Hakstol. They 76 points with 13 games remaining and what once was a lost season instead has the team thinking playoffs.
Michael Raffl scored a goal and an assist in Monday’s win. Raffl’s goal gave the Flyers their first lead of the night (2-1) in the second frame. He also added an assist on Scott Laughton’s insurance marker later on in the period. He finished the night with a plus-1 rating, one shot on goal and two blocked shots in 15:03 of ice time. The 30-year-old has six goals and 18 points in 55 games this season. Raffl has managed to score four points in his last four contests.
Laughton is now riding a five-game point streak. He has 11 goals and 27 points in 69 games this season. Oskar Lindblom also found the back of the net for the Flyers on Monday night. The 22-year-old has been relatively productive of late, as he has nine points in his last 12 contests. He has 13 goals and 28 points in 68 games this season.
Flyers forward Jakub Voracek served the first of a two-game suspension for interference against New York Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has upheld Voracek’s appeal, so he’ll sit out here as well. Brian Elliott allowed two goals on 22 shots Monday. He owns an 11-8-1 record with a 2.59 goals-against-average and a .916 save percentage this season. However, it will be Carter Hart in this game.
This will be Hart’s first game action since Feb. 21. He returned to the lineup from an ankle injury on Monday night when he dressed as Elliott’s backup against Ottawa. Hart has gone 13-8-1 this season with a 2.79 goals-against average and .917 save percentage.
Team Stats
Offense- Goals: 3.07
- Shots: 31.45
- PP/PK Percentage: 17.09
Defense
- Goals: 3.30
- Shots: 31.93
- PP/PK Percentage: 22.11
Capitals vs Flyers NHL Betting Trends
- Favorite is 20-8 in the last 28 meetings
- Home team is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings
- Over is 25-9-2 in the last 36 meetings in Philadelphia
- Washington is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games on the road
- Washington is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Washington’s last 6 games
- Philadelphia is 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games at home
- Philadelphia is 11-4 SU in its last 15 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games at home
Expert Final Score Prediction for Capitals vs Flyers
Washington Capitals 4 – Philadelphia Flyers 3
