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What | Philadelphia Flyers vs Washington Capitals |
Where | Capital One Arena – Washington, DC. |
When | Wednesday, March 4, 7PM EST |
How to Watch (TV/Radio) | TVA, NBC Sports | WFAN |
Head Coach: Alain Vigneault{All-Time 686-455-35-105 PHI, NYR, VAN, MTL}
The Philadelphia Flyers have moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division, just three points behind the Washington Capitals. They are 8-2-0 in their last ten games and are heading into this match on a six-game winning streak.
At the time of writing, the Flyers sit 12th in league scoring and continue to climb. With 142 even-strength goals this season, the team has a combined total of 188 tallies.
The other 39 goals have come on the power play, where Philadelphia has a 19.70 percent, good enough for just middle of the pack at 16th.
Philly ranks 15th in total shots on net and the team has a combined shooting percentage of 10 percent this season.
The biggest advantage heading into Wednesday night is the team’s prowess in the faceoff circle. The Flyers have a 54.5 faceoff percentage this season, which leads all other teams in the NHL.
Check out who are the favorites to win the 2020 Stanley Cup.
The Flyers have had a relatively successful defensive season despite years of glaring goaltending issues. This year, the team has allowed the 11th-fewest goals against, ranking ahead of the Capitals.
The Flyers also rank first in the league for allowing the fewest shots against. But their goaltending, although better over the past few seasons, still shows signs of a struggle and the team has just a combined .898 save percentage.
Their penalty killing has also been a bright spot, however, and the team boasts the 11th-best penalty kill in the league with an 82.02 percent. They have also scored seven shorthanded goals this season.
NHL veteran Brian Elliott is expected to be in goal for the Flyers Wednesday night against the Caps. Elliott, this far, has a season record of 15-7-4. His goals-against average sits at 2.90 and he has a .899 save percentage. He has two shutouts on the season.
Head Coach: Todd Reirden{All-Time 88-45-14 WSH}
Washington hasn’t had the same recent success as their opponents and have gone just 4-5-1 in their last ten games. Fortunately, they are coming off of a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild and they hope to carry that momentum into Wednesday night.
With 205 total goals this season, the Washington Capitals rank fourth-overall in goals scored. At even strength, the team has 160 goals while the other 40 tallies have come on the power play.
Washington’s power play ranks outside the top-ten and lower than Philly at 13th-overall. The Caps have a 20.73 power-play percentage at the time of writing and have also allowed nine shorthanded goals against this season.
The team has the 13th-highest shot total this season with 1,891 shots on net, giving the team a combined shooting percentage of 10.8 percent, which is tied for the league’s second-best.
The Washington Capitals have allowed six more goals against this season than Philadelphia, allowing 178, the 13th-lowest total in the league this season.
They have allowed the fifth-fewest shots on net but due to poor goaltending, that translates into a poorly .899 combined save percentage for the team.
Goaltending has been the weakness for Washington this season, which is rather out of character. Holtby, after starting slow, picked up some momentum mid-season. But now he seems to be struggling once again and he has posted some of the worst numbers of his career.
The team’s penalty killing has been outstanding, however, this season, as they have the fourth-highest penalty-killing percentage in the league at 83.90 percent.
Washington mainstay Braden Holtby will once again be in net for the Capitals. With a 3.12 GAA and a .898 save percentage, Holtby has a season record of 24-13-5. Surprisingly, Holtby has yet to register a shutout this season.
These two division rivals last faced off against each other on February 8. In an absolute blowout, it was the Flyers that defeated the Caps by a final score of 7-2.
The Metropolitan division title is at stake as these two teams rank first and second respectively. Heading into this game, only three points separate the two and in such a tight division, no one can afford to lose, even when at the top. The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders are right on their heels so these two points are equally important to both teams.
Can the Capitals find the answer to stopping the surging Flyers and use their home-ice advantage to snap their six-game streak? Washington is 18-9-5 at home this season while Philly is just 15-15-3 on the road.
Will the Flyers have enough offensive threats in their arsenal to take down the mighty Capitals? Philadelphia is still without Nolan Patrick and Oskar Lindblom.
Will Washington’s goaltending be able to withstand what Philadelphia brings to the table? Braden Holtby has, unfortunately, been having one of the worst seasons of his professional career.
D Samuel Morin – DL (knee)
F Oskar Lindblom – DL (illness)
F Nolan Patrick – IR/NR (head)
None to report.
The odds for the Flyers vs Capitals are provided by bet365 NJ, DraftKings Sportsbook, and William Hill NJ.
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Sportsbook | Flyers | Capitals |
---|---|---|
bet365 NJ | +135 | -155 |
DraftKings | +133 | -155 |
William Hill NJ | +140 | -160 |
Sportsbook | Flyers
+1.5 |
Capitals
-1.5 |
---|---|---|
bet365 NJ | -175 | +155 |
DraftKings | -200 | +165 |
William Hill NJ | -180 | +160 |
Ryan Bristlon is a Canadian writer currently residing in Hamilton, Ontario. He studied print and broadcast journalism at Humber College and has been a lifelong fan of the sport of hockey and the NHL.
Email: [email protected]
More info on Ryan Bristlon
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