The Florida Panthers (27-24-6) make the 3rd stop on a 4-game road trip against the Washington Capitals (28-22-6) Thursday at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. (ESPN+). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Panthers vs. Capitals odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Panthers were stomped 6-2 by the St. Louis Blues Tuesday, getting no love on Valentine’s Day. Florida will be glad to get back to facing Eastern Conference teams, as the Panthers are 5-1-2 across the past 8 games against teams from the East.
The Capitals are playing shorthanded right now, as superstar LW Alex Ovechkin has returned to Russia due to the death of his father. To make matters worse, RW Tom Wilson is sidelined due to a lower-body ailment, and key players D John Carlson and C Nic Dowd are also on the shelf with injuries, too.
Washington has dropped its last 2 games — both at home — falling 4-1 to the San Jose Sharks Sunday and 3-2 Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday. The Caps are averaging just 2 goals per game across the past 8 outings, and unsurprisingly the Under is 5-1-1 in the previous 7 contests.
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Panthers at Capitals odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:07 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Panthers -120 (bet $120 to win $100) | Capitals +100 (bet $100 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Panthers -1.5 (+180) | Capitals +1.5 (-250)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -120 | U: +100)
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Panthers at Capitals projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (15-14-2, 3.05 GAA, .905 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Darcy Kuemper (16-15-4, 2.59 GAA, .915 SV%, 5 SO)
February is just a little over halfway completed, but Bobrovsky is enjoying his finest month of the season, by far. He is 3-1-0 with a 1.73 GAA and .951 SV% across 4 starts, allowing just 1 goal in 3 of those assignments.
Bob allowed just 2 goals on 43 starts in a 5-2 victory against the Capitals in Sunrise back on Nov. 15.
Kuemper was nipped by the Hurricanes on Tuesday, allowing 3 goals on 30 shots. He has alternated losses and wins across his past 5 starts and has allowed just 4 goals on 58 shots with a 2.03 GAA and .931 SV% in 2 February assignments.
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Panthers at Capitals picks and predictions
Prediction
Panthers 3, Capitals 2
Moneyline
The PANTHERS (-120) are installed as road favorites against the shorthanded Capitals despite that the Cats are 0-6 in the past 6 tries against Metropolitan Division squads. However, Florida is a solid 5-2 in the previous 7 outings when playing on a day of rest and has also won 4 straight meetings in this series.
Puck line/Against the spread
The Capitals +1.5 (-250) will cost you 2 1/2 times your potential return if you would like some insurance on the shorthanded home side. That’s too much risk, especially with a handful of stars in street clothes in the press box or out of the country.
AVOID.
Over/Under
The UNDER 6.5 (+100) might be the best play on the board, even if the head-to-head trends indicate otherwise.
The Over is 6-1 in the past 7 meetings between these teams in D.C., and 12-3 in the previous 15 overall in the series. However, Washington wasn’t missing most of its top scoring line, a key center and half of its top defensive pairing in those games.
Kuemper will give the Caps a chance to hang in the game. Washington has cashed the Under at a 5-1-1 clip in the past 7 games overall while going 6-0-1 in the past 7 home games.
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