The Washington Capitals (15-6-4) play the first game of a two-game road set against the Philadelphia Flyers (13-7-3) Thursday at Wells Fargo Center Center. Puck drop will be shortly after 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Capitals-Flyers odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Caps and Flyers are second and fifth, respectively, in the tight East Division. The season series is tied 1-1 with Philly winning 7-4 Feb. 7 and Washington evening it up with a 3-1 victory Sunday.
The Flyers are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres Tuesday. The Capitals followed their win over the Flyers with a 5-4 overtime victory of their own against the New Jersey Devils Tuesday.
Capitals at Flyers: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:20 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Capitals -110 (bet $110 to win $100) | Flyers -105 (bet $105 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Capitals -1.5 (+230) | Flyers +1.5 (-300)
- Over/Under: 6.5 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Capitals at Flyers: Projected starting goalies
Ilya Samsonov (3-0-1, .907 SV%, 2.45 GAA) vs. Brian Elliott (7-2-0, .919 SV%, 2.29 GAA)
Samsonov has won back-to-back starts since returning in late February from a lengthy stay within the NHL’s COVID-19 protocols. He stopped 36 of 37 Flyers shots in Sunday’s victory. All five of his games thus far have been on the road.
Elliott allowed 4 goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday, but he was thrust back into action Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres after starter Carter Hart allowed 3 goals on just 8 shots. Elliott stopped 11 of the 12 shots he faced and was credited with a win earned by the Philly offense.
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Capitals at Flyers: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Capitals 4, Flyers 2
Money line (ML)
Back Samsonov and the CAPITALS (-110) to run it back following Sunday’s solid victory. The Caps registered 58.44% of the total shot attempts and 60.61% of the scoring chances at 5-on-5 in the 3-1 win.
Washington is better than Philadelphia in both metrics for the season as a whole. Elliott is the better of the two Philly netminders, but Samsonov is returning to his breakout 2019-20 form and should be given the edge in this goaltending battle.
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Against the spread (ATS)
Both power-play and penalty-kill rates favor the Capitals, but the Flyers are the better-disciplined team with just 7.0 penalty minutes served per game. Both teams draw just 7.6 penalty minutes per game from their opponents.
The CAPITALS -1.5 (+230) can be backed with a small bet for a win by 2 or more goals, but the money line is the significantly stronger play. It’ll likely require a late empty-netter from the Caps for a multi-goal win.
Over/Under (O/U)
Even with the threat of the empty-net tally and a multi-goal win for the Caps, back the UNDER 6.5 (-115) in a strong goalie matchup.
There shouldn’t be many penalties in this tight-fought rivalry game, and full-strength scoring will be held in check.
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