by Amedeus Mastrangelo
Friday, May 06, 2022
Game Time: 1:00 pm ET, Saturday, May 7, 2022
Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC
Where to Watch: ESPN
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Moneyline: Panthers -200, Capitals +170; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
Bet365: Moneyline: Panthers -200, Capitals +170; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
BetMGM: Moneyline: Panthers -190, Capitals +155; Over/Under: 6.5 goals
Season Record
Florida Panthers: 58-18-6 (1st place, Atlantic Division)
Washington Capitals: 44-26-12 (4th place, Metropolitan Division)
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Florida Panthers vs Washington Capitals Preview and Analysis
Recent Form
Florida Panthers: 6-4-0 last 10
Washington Capitals: 4-4-2 last 10
Florida Panthers Analysis
The Panthers are coming into this game finishing the regular season with 122 points, a 58-18-6 record overall, and they were 34-7-0 in their home games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games but are coming into this one off of a win in their last game which snapped a 2 game losing streak that they were on. Their 2 losses in that span were against the Montreal Canadiens and the Capitals in game 1 of this series while their win came against the Capitals in game 2 of this series which was also their last game. They won that game at home 5-1. Aleksander Barkov, Carter Verhaeghe, Aaron Ekblad, Anton Lundell, and Mason Marchment each scored 1 goal for them in that one. Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe led the team in shots on net in that game with 4 each. Sergei Bobrovsky was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 1 goal on 27 shots with 26 saves and a .963 sv percentage. Their offense has scored 340 goals this season averaging 4.1 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 246 goals against them allowing 3 goals per game.
Washington Capitals Analysis
The Capitals are coming into this game finishing the regular season with 100 points, a 44-26-12 record overall, and they were 25-10-6 in their road games this regular season where they will be in this game. They have lost 5 of their last 6 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Panthers in game 1 of this series while their 5 losses in that span came against the Toronto Maple Leafs, the New York Islanders twice, the New York Rangers, and the Panthers in game 2 of this series which was also their last game. They lost that game on the road 5-1. Nicklas Bäckström scored the only goal for them in that one while John Carlson and Alexander Ovechkin both assisted. Alexander Ovechkin led the team in shots on net in that game with 5. Vitek Vanecek was the starting goalie in that game and he allowed 5 goals on 19 shots with 14 saves and a .737 sv percentage. He was pulled from that game and replaced by Ilya Samsonov who allowed 0 goals on 17 shots with 17 saves and a 1.000 save percentage. Their offense has scored 275 goals this season averaging 3.4 goals per game and their defense has allowed their opponents to score 245 goals against them allowing 3 goals per game.
Panthers vs Capitals Prediction
The Panthers are coming into this game as a big favorite with the current betting odds. They dropped game 1 of this series in a bad loss at home where they had a 2-1 lead going into the 3rd period and just collapsed, allowing 3 goals in that period to lose 4-2. They still played very well for the first two periods of this game as they had the lead going into the 3rd and they bounced back nicely in their last game anyway, winning 5-1 to tie up the series 1-1. Vanecek had to get pulled for Samsonov after allowing 5 goals in that game and the Capitals were not very good on offense either, only scoring the 1 goal. The Panthers are starting to look like the team they were all season in that game and they will likely continue on with that momentum into this game and win it to take a series lead. They need to win a game on the road to win the series now and after the way they played in their last game, they will likely steal this one on the road. The best bet here is on the Panthers to win this game on the puckline.
Panthers Capitals Prediction: Our NHL Pick for Saturday, May 7, 2022 (1:00 pm ET start time) is Panthers 4 Capitals 1.
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NHL Betting Trends
Florida Panthers: 134-85 (+24.1 Units) ML in all games. 49-38 (+5.4 Units) ML in a road game where the total is 6 or more. 20-11 OVER off a home win.
Washington Capitals: 41-38 (-21 Units) ML in a home game where the total is 6 or more. 42-45 (-16 Units) ML after 1 or more consecutive unders. 48-26 OVER in a home game where the total is 6 or more.
Key Injuries
Florida Panthers: M. Nutivaara (D) Out indefinitely - Lower Body injury.
Washington Capitals: T. Wilson (RW) Ques Sat - Lower Body injury. C. Hagelin (LW) out for season - Face injury. J. Snively (LW) Out indefinitely - Wrist injury.
Notable Quotes
“Tonight, early on, we weren't as sharp as we'd like to be. But I think we grinded it out and that's a really good building block for our group here." - Andrew Brunette after his team’s win against the Capitals in game 2 on Thursday.
“The first period, I thought we did just about everything right and we're down 2-0. Then even to start the second period, I thought we were doing the right things and they got a third and a fourth. I thought our game unraveled from there." - Peter Laviolette after his team’s loss against the Panthers in game 2 on Thursday.
Starting Lineups
Florida Panthers
LW Verhaeghe, Carter
C Barkov, Aleksander
RW Duclair, Anthony
LD Weegar, MacKenzie
RD Ekblad, Aaron
G Bobrovsky, Sergei
Washington Capitals
LW Ovechkin, Alex
C Evgeny Kuznetsov
RW Sheary, Conor
LD Fehérváry, Martin
RD Carlson, John
G Vanecek, Vitek
Statistical Leaders
Florida Panthers
Points: J. Huberdeau (115)
Goals: A. Barkov (39)
Assists: J. Huberdeau (85)
GAA: S. Bobrovsky (2.67)
Washington Capitals
Points: A. Ovechkin (90)
Goals: A. Ovechkin (50)
Assists: J. Carlson (54)
GAA: V. Vanecek (2.67)
Coaches:
Florida Panthers: Andrew Brunette (Interim)
Washington Capitals: Peter Laviolette (2nd season)
Amedeus Mastrangelo
About the Author:
Amedeus Mastrangelo has been heavily wagering on all sports for years and plays just about everything, including sides, totals, favorites, underdogs, against the spread, alternative spreads, first half, second half, player props, and futures. The bottom line is, if Mastrangelo can see an edge in any way shape or form, then he's going to take advantage.
