Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Game 1 Prediction, NHL Odds
Florida has been dominant on home ice this season going 34-7, helping them to a league-high 122 points, the last 10 teams to finish as the NHL’s top seed have failed to win the Stanley Cup.
Ovechkin is looking to lead the Capitals past round one for the first time since winning the cup back in 2018.
The Panthers are the -222 favourites to win on the NHL odds in Game One, with a total of 6.5.
Capitals vs. Panthers NHL Betting Odds
These squads wrapped up their season series early playing all three games way back in November. Those three matchups were all decided by a single goal and the Panthers pulled out two wins, both on home ice. Each teams leading scorer this season also lead the way in the season series with Jonathan Huberdeau’s five points (1G 4A) for Florida and Ovechkin’s six (4G 2A) for the Caps.
In their past 15 head-to-heads, 12 have played the Over and they are riding an eight-game streak that way as well. Early bettors are a dead 50-50 split on tonight’s 6.5 total.
Florida put up a ridiculous 34-7 record at home this season and 92 percent of bets are taking them in Game One.
The Capitals played in the Under five times in their past seven contests but were still 46-32 to the Over this season. They gave up an average of 2.9 goals per game all year, one goal less than Florida.
The high-scoring Panthers put up an average of 4.1 goals per game, the highest-scoring team of the past 20 years. They ended the season 44-33 to the Over but played it only twice in their past 10.
Both teams ended the year covering in 42 of the 82-game season.
Washington Capitals
Washington has nine players who have had their names etched into the Stanley Cup, including seven members of the Capitals championship team in 2018.
It is shaping up to be the perfect series for Tom Wilson who had five points (2G 3A) versus Florida this season. He’s coming off a career year with 52 points, was second on the team with 24 goals and thrives in a playoff atmosphere.
Ovechkin is banged up, he missed the team’s last three games with a shoulder injury but is ready to go for the series opener. Head Coach Peter Laviolette has yet to reveal who gets the start for his team but do not be surprised if he uses both goalies in the series.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers will be looking to live up to the hype, with a lot of pressure after a record-setting regular season. Florida opens as the second favourite for the Stanley Cup at +517 behind only Colorado.
Soon-to-be Hall-of-Famers Joe Thornton and Claude Giroux are two of a handful of veterans still looking for their first-ever Stanley Cup. Thornton (186 GP) and Giroux (86 GP) both have postseason experience, but are missing the biggest prize in the sport.
Defenceman Aaron Ekblad has missed the past 21 games with a knee injury, but took to practice yesterday and could possibly return for Game one.
Pay no attention to their most recent 10-2 loss to 32nd placed Montreal, most of their stars were scratched and they started their third-string netminder.
WAS
FLA