The Washington Capitals took advantage of some fortunate scheduling victories to win consecutive games on the road as they return home Tuesday to face the Philadelphia Flyers. As much as Philadelphia has stayed competitive in most of their recent games, the Flyers have won just twice in their last seven games and just eight times since the beginning of March. Washington needed those two wins to gain some confidence as they try to claim the top seed in the East Division while the Flyers are trying to scrounge together enough points to crawl into the playoffs.
Conor Sheary has scored in consecutive games just once this season, yet he’s the guy I’m betting on at +350 odds from the hockey betting sites in New Jersey. Part of it is the odds with so many Capitals goal scorers at such short odds to score against the Flyers. However, the other part of my reason is that Sheary plays on a line that is going to face the worst defensive pairing the Flyers have, and that is an excellent matchup. The Capitals have playmakers throughout the lineup and Philadelphia doesn’t have many defensemen who can slow down elite players. So playing against a third-line defensive pairing against the worst goaltenders in the league this season should boost Sheary’s chances of scoring a goal for a second straight game after scoring twice Sunday against Boston. CONOR SHEARY SCORES GOAL I would have gotten better odds if I had bet on the game itself being a high-scoring affair, but I had more concerns with Philadelphia’s defense than Washington’s unit. The Flyers goaltending has been putrid to put it mildly and the Capitals are one of the deepest scoring teams in the league. The defense might haunt Washington in the postseason, but right now, the Capitals have the ability to outscore anybody. The Capitals scored five goals in each of their last two games with Philadelphia, and after potting eight goals against the Bruins on Sunday, the offense is firing on all cylinders. The Flyers should be very concerned about a confident Washington group, which is why I took the +255 odds from the NHL betting sites in New Jersey. WASHINGTON CAPITASL OVER 4.5 GOALS This is one of the stranger bets I have suggested on here, but the Flyers have been oddly more competitive on the road than at home this season. Four of their last five road games have required overtime and eight of their last nine games overall were decided by either one goal or two goals with the second being an empty-netter. Given Washington’s defensive struggles, it’s not unlikely this game could be very high-scoring and therefore fairly close. The legal sports betting sites in New Jersey are offering +340 odds on this game requiring more than 60 minutes to decide a winner, and it’s a risk I’m willing to take given the offensive prowess both teams possess. GAME GOES TO OVERTIME
Head to Head This is the fifth contest of the season between Washington and Philadelphia as the Capitals have won three straight against the Flyers since losing the first matchup of the season. Stats The Capitals are scoring the second-most goals in the league thus far, lighting the lamp 3.43 times per game. They also have the fourth-best power play in the NHL by converting on 25.5 percent on their chances, and they face the Flyers’ penalty kill that is the third worst in the league by killing off just 75 percent of penalties. Philadelphia has the worst save percentage in the league, and it’s not even close. The Flyers have a team save percentage of .878, seven points worse than the next closest team. They are also allowing the second-most goals in the league at 3.51 goals per game this season despite ranking in the top 10 in fewest shots allowed per game. Though we think of Alex Ovechkin as Washington’s biggest weapon the power play, he trails T.J. Oshie, who has scored nine goals on the man advantage this season. Oshie is tied for fourth in the league with his nine power-play goals, which account for more than 64 percent of his total goals for the season. Joel Farabee has been a bright spot for Philadelphia this season with a team-high 15 goals, seven more than he had in 52 games last season. Farabee also has 15 assists this year, two more than he had last year, and is one of five Flyers with at least 30 points this season.
Washington Capitals to win The Philadelphia Flyers have really struggled over the past two weeks, so a trip down to Washington only will extend those woes. The Washington Capitals picked up two easy road victories over the weekend to help inject the team with some confidence, which will pay dividends Tuesday night. Washington is a stronger team than Philadelphia and its goaltending is slightly better than the Flyers at the moment. Unless Philadelphia can show a capacity to play good hockey consistently for 60 minutes, it should be a long night in Washington for the Flyers.
