Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Game 2 Prediction, NHL Odds
The underdog Capitals rallied with three goals in the third to come from behind and stun the president’s trophy-winning Panthers in Game 1.
Florida has been in this position before, losing all of their past six Game 1’s dating back to 1997. The Panthers are still the -271 favourites to win Game 2 on the NHL odds, with a total of 6.5.
Capitals vs. Panthers NHL Playoff Betting Odds
This matchup played the Under in Game 1 snapping an 8-0 run to the Over dating back to 2018. Both teams finished top 10 in the league in scoring this regular season, but Florida lead the way averaging 4.1 goals per game. Tonight’s early bettors are a 50-50 split on the Over/Under of 6.5.
Florida received 95 percent of the moneyline bets in Game 1 but of course came up short, losing for the fourth time in five games. Bettors are expecting them to bounce back tonight though, receiving 78 percent of the early bets.
The Panthers are still the -175 favourite to win the series heading into Game 2, while the Caps have been moved up to +149 after taking Game 1.
Washington Capitals
The Capitals found themselves trailing by one after two periods, before rallying to score three goals in the final ten minutes of the third for a come from behind victory.
Evgeni Kuznetsov tied the game at two, followed by T.J. Oshie’s game-winning goal just two minutes later. Lars Eller would seal it in the empty netter, while Kuznetsov and Oshie were named first and second stars of the game. Vitek Vanecek got the nod in goal for Game 1 and stopped 30 of 32 shots for his first playoff win.
Tom Wilson, who opened the scoring in Game 1, is listed as a game-time decision for tonight’s contest. The gritty right-winger is dealing with a lower-body injury after taking a hit from Mackenzie Weegar.
Florida Panthers
The Panthers looked comfortable after Claude Giroux’s goal gave them a 2-1 lead to work with heading into the third period. During the regular season, Florida went 39-0-1 when leading after two periods.
Florida got into some penalty trouble but Sergei Bobrovsky bailed them out in the net. He stopped 34 of 37 shots including seven short-handed shots, to keep the game in reach.
The Cats dynamic duo of Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov combined for 203 points during the regular season, but both were held off the scoresheet in the opener. Huberdeau who finished second in scoring with 115 points, has not been held pointless in back-to-back games all season.
Florida has not advanced in the playoff since 1997.
WAS
FLA