NHL: Capitals vs. Flyers odds, pick, prediction
The Philadelphia Flyers return home on Thursday with an opportunity to run their point streak to seven games and put some distance between them and some of the chasers in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Standing in their way will be another pleasant surprise in the NHL, the Washington Capitals, who are looking to extend their winning streak to three games.
The Flyers are a -135 favorite on home ice at the time of writing.
We’ve spoken at length this season about how the Flyers profile well as underdogs due to their work ethic, structure and goaltending, but the equation changes when they’re the betting favorite. For all the good work the Flyers do, they just don’t have the scoring talent needed to run away from teams and that makes them a bit dicey when the prices start getting wider.
Nonetheless, it makes sense that Philadelphia is the favorite on Thursday night. These two teams were expected to finish around the same spot in the standings before Opening Night and the Flyers have a better statistical profile compared to the Caps.
But one thing the Caps have done well is keep games relatively predictable and low-event. Washington isn’t the offensive force it was a few years ago, so the Capitals now have to focus on playing a detail-oriented, defensive game in order to keep their target score in reach. The Caps are getting strong goaltending, which also helps.
The Flyers and Capitals have a lot of similarities. Neither team is set up to win run-and-gun hockey and instead relies on strong structure and solid goaltending to grind out results. That’s why we’re starting at a low total (5.5). This game projects to be a rock fight, with neither team looking like a great bet to just come out and blow the other one away.
In situations like this it’s always worth looking at the game to go to overtime. It worked the last time the Flyers stepped on the ice against the Predators and this matchup has a lot of the same qualities.
The Bet: 60-minute draw +350 (DraftKings)
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