The Philadelphia Flyers look to continue their domination of the Washington Capitals. Philadelphia defeated Washington on February 7, 7-4. That was their fifth straight victory over the Capitals.
Here you can find the best picks, news, and stats for this East Division battle at the Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia is the favorite at -120. This according to PointsBet Sportsbook, puts the odds for Los Washington at +100 as the underdog.
Defenseman Philippe Meyers is listed as questionable for Philadelphia on Sunday. Left-wing Isaac Radcliffe is out until mid-March.
Bruins Snap Capitals Winning Streak
The Washington Capitals (13-6-4) had won four straight games, but Boston ended that with a 5-1 victory on Friday. Vitek Vanecek gave up four goals on 18 shots before he was pulled from the contest. Jakub Vrana had the only goal of the game for Washington.
The Capitals are averaging 3.22 goals per game, ninth in the NHL. The power-play has been outstanding, fifth overall at 26.7%. Nicklas Backstrom leads Washington with 10 goals, 16 assists, and 26 total points. He just reached the 700 career point plateau this week. Of his 10 goals, three have come on the power-play.
Washington is allowing 3.17 goals per game. Penalty killing has been solid, 12th in the NHL at 81.1%. It will likely be Ilya Samsonov between the pipes on Sunday. He is 2-0-1 in three starts with a 2.87 GAA and a .877 save percentage. Samsonov has improved with each outing, giving up four goals in his first appearance of the season, but has allowed one fewer goal in each of his last three appearances.
Penguins Battle Back to Down Flyers
Jared McCann completed the comeback with his fifth goal of the season a little over nine minutes left in the contest to give the Penguins a 4-3 victory over Philadelphia. Brian Elliott stopped 23 of 27 shots and Travis Konecny had a goal and an assist for the Flyers.
Philadelphia is sixth in the NHL in goals per game at 3.33. This is surprising considering they are 30th in the league in shots per game at 26.9. The Flyers power-play is connecting on 18.9% of their opportunities, 19th overall. James van Riemsdyk leads the team in scoring with 26 points, but he has been held off the score sheet in each of the last two games.
The Flyers are allowing 30.05 goals per game. They are 28th in the league in penalty killing it 71.8%. Carter Hart is expected to get the start. He is 6-4-3 and 13 starts with a 3.49 GAA and a .893 save percentage.
Trends:
Washington:
- 2-5 in their last seven games on a Sunday.
- 3-8 in their last 11 games as the road underdog.
Philadelphia:
- 4-1 in their last five games.
- 7-2 in their last nine games on a Sunday.
This should be a very entertaining contest, not only because both teams are playing well, but also because Washington is chasing Philadelphia right now. A victory would help to push the Capitals ahead of New York and leave them a few percentage points behind the Flyers.
Philadelphia is playing a little bit better offensively, and I think this is the difference in this game. The Flyers have won the last five meetings between these teams.
Pick: Take Philadelphia at – -120
The Total:
Goaltending looked shaky for both teams in their last contests, and I am not impressed by the performance of Hart. He may be the No. 1 netminder in Philadelphia, but he is not played like it. On the other end of the rink, the Capitals have their own question mark in their own net as well.
I find 6.0 as the total a little low. I am going over here as Philadelphia wins, 4-3.
Pick: Go over 6.0 goals at -120