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Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish
Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert
9 minute read

The Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers meet at FLA Live Arena Tuesday night for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, a best-of-seven series. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game can be viewed on ESPN2.

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Score Prediction

Panthers 5, Capitals 3

Best Bet

Panthers -1.5 (+118)
Over 6.5 (-110)

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS PREDICTIONS

The Capitals dropped the final four games of the regular season, and Washington averaged just 1.33 goals per game across the final three outings. On the flip side, Washington allowed 4.0 GPG during the four-game skid. If it is unable to turn that around in a hurry, the stay in the playoffs will likely be a brief one.

For the Panthers, they wrapped up the President's Trophy for the best record in the NHL during the regular season. As such, the Panthers are heavily favored in the Eastern Conference, but this is also a team which hasn't won a playoff series since topping the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1996. Since that series win over the Pens, the Cats have dropped seven straight playoff series, going just 11-27 in 38 postseason games.

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING ODDS

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING RESOURCES

  • Date: Tuesday, May 3, 2022
  • Matchup: Metro vs. Atlantic
  • Venue: FLA Live Arena
  • Location: Sunrise, Florida
  • TV-Time: ESPN2, 7:30 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON CAPITALS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 44-26-12
  • ATS: 42-40
  • O/U: 46-32-4

The Capitals struggled with consistency down the stretch, as the offense was flagging, and both goaltenders Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek really struggled with 16 goals allowed in the final four outings. In fact, Washington allowed four or more goals in seven of the final nine games overall.

These teams haven't faced each other since Nov. 30, a 5-4 victory by the Panthers in Sunrise as the OVER easily hit. The OVER also cashed on Nov. 26 in D.C., a 4-3 win by the Caps. In fact, the OVER has hit in eight consecutive meetings in this series.

FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

  • SU: 58-18-6
  • ATS: 42-40
  • O/U: 44-30-8

The Panthers were blasted by the Montreal Canadiens of all teams in the regular season finale, losing 10-2. But that was a rest game, as the team used Jonas Johansson in between the pipes to rest both Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight, so essentially, Johansson was taking one for the team.

Florida topped the charts with 4.1 goals per game while also firing off 37.3 shots per contest. They were also sixth in the NHL with a 24.4% success rate on the power play. For a top team, it's a bit surprising that Florida's penalty kill unit was just 16th at 79.5%, and that's an area of concern. They'll need to turn that around in a big hurry if Florida wishes to go deep into the postseason.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS CONCLUSION

We're going to see a lot of goals in this series. Washington has Alexander Ovechkin, and we're obviously aware of what he brings to the table. Florida has a bevy of big-time scorers, including the dynamic Jonathan Huberdeau. The Panthers might not have received the kind of attention this season they deserved, but this is a high-octane offense capable of hanging with anybody.

The issue for the Panthers is that their defense is a little on the shaky side, and their goaltending is just so-so. The penalty kill has struggled, too. We've seen the OVER frequently for the Capitals, and the OVER is 8-0 in the previous eight meetings between these teams. In fact, this season we saw an average of 8.0 total goals in four meetings in the regular season, and at least eight total goals in each of the past eight in this series. The goal lamp operator better limber up, because he/she is going to be busy.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING TRENDS

  • Capitals are 0-4 in the past four games overall.
  • Capitals are 1-3 in the past four road games.
  • Capitals are 1-3 in the past four as an underdog.
  • Panthers are 1-3 in the past four games overall.
  • Panthers are 11-1 in the past 12 home games.
  • Panthers are 1-3 in the past four as a favorite.
  • UNDER is 4-2-1 in the past seven for the Capitals.
  • OVER is 11-3 in the past 14 road games for the Caps.
  • UNDER is 6-2-4 in the past 12 games for the Panthers.
  • UNDER is 2-1-3 in the past six home games for the Panthers.
  • Home team is 4-0 in the past four meetings.
  • Underdog is 5-3 in the past eight meetings.
  • OVER is 8-0 in the previous eight meetings.

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Daniel Dobish

Daniel Dobish

Dan is a handicapper and sports betting expert for VegasInsider with years of experience writing for a number of top publications in the industry. More from Daniel Dobish
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