The Philadelphia Flyers, led by Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier, are preparing to take the ice against John Carlson, Alex Ovechkin, and the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena in a divisional showdown. NBC Sports Network will air the game, which gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 4.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals Odds
Playing the role of favorites will be the Capitals (-155), whereas the Flyers are showing moneyline odds of +135 and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals (-105 for the over, -115 for the under) at most Pennsylvania sportsbooks.
Washington is 40-25 straight up (SU) and has earned 1.1 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked third in the NHL in this young season, isn’t too far off from to the 48-34 record the team produced during last year’s regular season campaign. Among the team’s 65 games this season, 40 have gone over the total, while 23 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 18-14 SU at home this season.
The Capitals have converted on 20.3 percent of their power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 83.3 percent of all penalties.
Averaging 26.0 saves per game with a .898 save percentage, Braden Holtby (25-20-5) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Caps this year. If the Caps decide to rest him, however, head coach Todd Reirden could roll with Ilya Samsonov (16-9-9 record, .917 save percentage, 2.40 goals against average).
On the visiting bench, Philadelphia is 38-27 straight up (SU) and has netted 10.4 units for moneyline bettors this season. 35 of its games have gone over the total, while 28 have gone under the total and just two have pushed. The Flyers are 15-18 SU as the visiting team this season.
The Flyers have converted on 21.5 percent of their power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 14th overall and it’s successfully killed off 81.3 percent of all penalties.
Carter Hart (2.51 goals against average and .909 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Philadelphia. Hart is averaging 22.8 saves per game and has 22 wins, 18 losses, and three OT losses to his credit.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals Free Picks
Pick: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
The Capitals are 4-2 in games decided by shootout. The Flyers are 5-5 in shootouts.
For both of these clubs, the game went over the total in three of their past five matchups.
Over Philadelphia’s last ten games, nine of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 7-2 in those games).
The Caps this season have tallied the seventh-most hits per game in the NHL (24.9), but that average has climbed to 29.4 over their past five games as the home team.