Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson, and the Washington Capitals will face off against Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center in an Eastern Conference tilt. The action gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, November 7, and it will air live on NBC Sports Washington.
Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Odds
The Panthers (-120) are tabbed as the favorites over the Capitals (+100) and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 7 goals. The odds for betting the total sit at -120 money on the over and +100 on the under.
Washington is 11-5 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 5.2 units this year. Through 16 regular season contests, 11 of its games have gone over the total, while five have gone under and none have pushed. As an away team in 2019-20, the Caps are 7-2 SU.
Washington has converted on 25.9 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that places them in the top-5 among NHL teams. On the other hand, it has the seventh-best penalty kill in the league, and it’s successfully killed off 86.2 percent of its penalties..
With a .895 save percentage and 26.5 saves per game, Braden Holtby (6-5-3) has been the top option in goal for Washington this season. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, head coach Todd Reirden might roll with Ilya Samsonov (5-1), who has a .915 save percentage and 2.38 goals against average this year.
On the other side of the ice, Florida is 7-7 straight up (SU) and has lost 0.2 units for moneyline bettors this year. Nine of its games have gone over the total, while four have gone under and just one has pushed. It’s 3-2 SU as the home team this year.
The Panthers have converted on just 22.0 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked fifth overall, and it’s successfully killed off 86.5 percent of all opponent power plays.
Sergei Bobrovsky has stopped 22.4 shots per game as the primary option in goal for the Panthers. Bobrovsky has six wins, six losses, and three OT losses and has registered a mediocre 3.36 goals against average and a fairly-weak .882 save percentage this year.
Washington Capitals vs. Florida Panthers Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Capitals, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The Panthers are 3-2 SU when they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Capitals are 6-1 SU in games where they spend more time in the box than the opposition.
- For both of these clubs, the over has hit in four of their past five matches.
- Washington has averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 10.3 giveaways per game (ranked 13th).
- Florida ranked fifth last year with 9.1 takeaways per game, but the team appears to be applying less pressure on opposing offenses to begin this season. It’s up to a ranking of 21st through 14 games with 7.0 takeaways per contest.
- Washington skaters have accounted for the league’s ninth-most hits per game (22.6).
