Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Picks, Predictions, Odds

Daniel Dobish Sports Betting Expert

9 minute read

The Washington Capitals and the Florida Panthers meet at FLA Live Arena Thursday night for Game 2 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 TBS.

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Score Prediction

Panthers 5, Capitals 4

Best Bet

Capitals +1.5 (-118)
Over 6.5 (-123)

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS PREDICTIONS

The Capitals surprised the Panthers, the President's Trophy winners, with a 4-2 victory in Game 1. It was going well for the homestanding Panthers through the first two periods, as Florida held a precarious 2-1 lead after 40 minutes. However, Evgeni Kuznetsov, T.J. Oshie (game winner) and Lars Eller (empty net) notched three unanswered goals in the third period to splash cold water on what was a surprisingly boisterous and uncharacteristic full house at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise.

The President's Trophy is awarded to the team with the most points during the regular season, but it has been a curse in recent seasons. The last team to win the President's Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season was the Chicago Blackhawks in 2012-13. In fact, only one team has advanced to the conference finals since then, and the New York Rangers lost in the 2015 playoffs to the Tampa Bay Lightning in that season's postseason. Only two teams since 2002 have won the President's Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season.

The Panthers will look to change what has been considered a President's Trophy curse, but so far, so bad. Can Florida bounce back and win in Game 2, leveling the series before heading to the nation's capital? I think so, but it will be a close shave.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING ODDS

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WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING RESOURCES

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

WASHINGTON CAPITALS BETTING ANALYSIS

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

• SU: 45-26-12
• ATS: 43-40
• O/U: 46-33-4

The Capitals dropped four consecutive games to close out the regular season, and Washington scored just four total goals in the final three games. However, Washington re-discovered its offense just in the nick of time after the first two periods mirrored the team's final three outings.

The Capitals lost RW Tom Wilson to a lower-body injury, as he exited Game 1. He posted a power-play goal early in the first period to open the scoring, but he was lost shortly thereafter. He is considered a game-time decision for Game 2.

Washington has won nine of the past 13 games on the road, but that's about all it has going. It's still 1-4 in the pat five games overall, 1-4 in the past five playoff games as an underdog and 2-6 in the past eight Eastern Conference Quarterfinals tilts.

FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING ANALYSIS

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

• SU: 58-19-6
• ATS: 42-41
• O/U: 44-31-8

The loss by the Panthers was shocking, considering they had won 44 of the past 51 games as a home favorite until the Game 1 loss. They're still 69-22 in the past 91 games as a favorite, while going 40-14 in the past 54 games overall. However, they're still 1-5 in the past six playoff games as a favorite, and 1-4 in the past five in the Quarterfinals round. And again, this team hasn't won a postseason series since 1996, so while many like them as the favorite in the Eastern Conference, they need to figure out how to win a postseason series first.

The Panthers hit the UNDER, and that's been the trend lately. The UNDER is 7-2-4 in the past 13 games overall, while going 4-0 in the past four in the Quarterfinals round.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS CONCLUSION

While the Capitals won in Sunrise in the series opener, Washington is still just 1-4 in the past five trips to Florida. The home team is 4-1 in the past five meetings in this series, but that one is an awful important one.

The OVER is 8-1 in the past nine meetings in this series, and 4-1 in the pat five meetings in Sunrise. But the UNDER hit in Game 1, and that one in those trends are also very important. I expect to see a lot more offense, especially from the home side. We should get some fire-wagon hockey in Game 2, as that's been Florida's M.O. all season. Score, allow goals, score more, and then score some more.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs. FLORIDA PANTHERS BETTING TRENDS

• Capitals are 1-4 in the past five games overall.
• Capitals are 9-4 in the past 13 road games.
• Panthers are 46-11 in the past 57 home games.
• Panthers are 44-8 in the past 52 as a home fave.
• Panthers are 1-4 in the past five Eastern QF games.
• Panthers are 1-5 in the past six playoff games as a fave.
• OVER is 11-4 in the past 15 road games for the Capitals.
• OVER is 9-3-1 in the past 13 as an underdog for the Caps.
• UNDER is 7-2-4 in the past 13 games for the Panthers.
• OVER is 19-7-4 in the past 30 home games for the Panthers.
• UNDER is 4-0 in the past four Eastern QF games for the Panthers.
• Capitals are 1-4 in the past four trips to Florida.
• OVER is 4-1 in the past five meetings in Florida.

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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