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Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers Betting Preview: East Division Battle In Philly

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The Washington Capitals travel up I-95 to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers for the third time this season on Thursday. The teams split the first two contests, with each winning on the other’s home ice. The Flyers drilled the Capitals in the first meeting 7-4, and Washington came back and answered with a 3-1 victory.

Washington is in second place in the East Division, while the Flyers sit in fifth, one spot behind the final playoff position currently held by the Boston Bruins. Only seven points separate the division-leading New York Islanders with 36 points and the Flyers. There is a lot of hockey left in a season that has yet to reach its halfway point.

Nolan Patrick #19 of Philadelphia and Ilya Samsonov #30 of the Washington Capitals watch puck. Read our Capitals vs Flyers betting preview.
Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP

When looking at the NHL odds for this game, the Flyers have puck line odds of +190 to win the game by at least two goals.

On the moneyline, The Flyers have odds of -120, while the Caps are EVEN and the over/under is at six goals. The odds slightly favor the Over at -115.

Both teams have a positive record against the spread this season, with Washington at 14-11 and the Flyers at 12-11. The same is true against the over/under, with the Capitals at 14-10-1 and Philadelphia outscoring the total at a 15-8 clip.

Game Preview

Capitals

When the Capitals gave up a season-high seven goals against the Flyers in their first meeting, Washington was in the midst of a four-game losing streak where they gave up 5.5 goals a game. In the last 10 games, however, Washington has a 7-2-1 record, and its defense has been much better except for a 5-1 loss to Boston.

The Capitals are coming off a 5-4 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils where they blew a 4-1 third-period lead before prevailing in the three-on-three session. Both teams have almost identical goal differentials, including offensive and defensive production.

The difference is that, in their four-game losing streak, Washington was outscored 22-12 to skew its season averages.

The primary statistical difference between the Flyers and the Capitals is in the power play categories. The Capitals are among the league leaders in scoring with a man advantage and killing penalties when they are down a player.

They’re sixth in power-play scoring percentage at 27% and seventh in penalty killing at 82.7%.

Flyers

The Flyers are not in the same class as the Capitals. They  rank 22nd in power-play scoring at 18.3% and in 26th place in penalty killing at 73%. For the Flyers to replicate their big win from earlier in the season, they’ll need to avoid penalties. They need to keep Washington from skating with a man advantage.

At this point in the season, the Capitals are just the better team. The result of the second game is probably more indicative of the relative strength of the two squads. Washington has multiple offensive weapons and plays well enough defense to make it a serious contender in the division.

The Flyers haven’t been able to build much momentum. They need to find a way to do so if they are going to contend for a playoff spot. This game against a team that beat them three days ago is important to stay in the playoff hunt.

Capitals vs Flyers Betting Pick

In the game on Sunday, the Capitals played great defense. The four total goals were on the low side for these two teams. Both teams average more than three goals on both offense and defense.  So, expect a higher scoring game this time around.

Washington should be able to win outright, so when doing your NHL betting, take them on both the puck line and the moneyline. Go with the over as well.

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