The Florida Panthers will try to eliminate the Washington Capitals in Game 6 of their 1st-round Eastern Conference playoff series Friday. Florida leads 3-2. Puck drop from Capital One Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET (TBS). Below, we look at the Panthers vs. Capitals odds and lines, and make our expert NHL picks, predictions and bets.
The Panthers won Game 4 in OT and we felt like that was their awakening to dominate Game 5. They did. After getting down 3-0 early, the Panthers poured it on in the final 34 minutes to win 5-3. C Carter Verhaeghe has dominated with 4 goals and 3 assists in the last 2 games.
Capitals’ All-Star RW Tom Wilson (lower body) is out again. He has points in each game, but LW Alex Ovechkin has been quiet with just 1 power-play goal in the series on 18 shots. His lack of a spark has been one of the stories of this series, and frankly, Washington could have won it in 5 games.
The Panthers are 0-for-16 on the power play in the 5 games, but continue to grind out wins. They have had 10 players light the lamp in the series.
Panthers at Capitals odds and lines
- Money line: Panthers -175 (bet $175 to win $100) | Capitals +140 (bet $100 to win $140)
- Against the spread (ATS): Panthers -1.5 (+130) | Capitals +1.5 (-165)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -140 | U: +112)
Panthers at Capitals projected goalies
Sergei Bobrovsky (39-7-3, 2.67 GAA, .913 SV%, 3 SO – regular season) vs. Ilya Samsonov (23-12-5, 3.02 GAA, .896 SV%, 3 SO – regular season)
Bobrovsky continued his solid play with 30 saves on 33 shots in Game 5. According to MoneyPuck, he has been the 4th-best goalie in the playoffs with 2.4 goals saved above expected. He has a 2.78 GAA and a .902 SV% in the series, which are on par with what he did in the regular season.
Samsonov provided a spark when he emerged in Game 2, but Florida has progressively gotten to him more. He has allowed 1, 3 and 5 goals in the last 3 games, but he is still 5th among playoff goalies with 2.3 goals saved above expected. He has a 2.68 GAA and a .923 SV%, which has kept his team in the series.
Money line
Caps RW T.J. Oshie has picked up the slack with 5 goals in the series, but it can’t just be him scoring. There’s a chance the home crowd gets behind Washington and they stay alive. However, the Panthers have 2 colossal comeback wins in a row. They move on Friday, but we’ll PASS on the -175.
Against the spread
The Panthers know this series has been closer than it should have been, and they’re looking to put this one away. Washington can’t hang with them offensively, and Florida has to be feeling good after dropping 5 goals in the back half of Game 5.
LEAN PANTHERS -1.5 (+130).
Over/Under
The Over is 5-1 in the last 6 in Washington and 10-3 in the last 13 overall between these teams. The Panthers sense blood, and they’ll start quick and try to put this one away early. Go lightly because both teams have been inconsistent offensively, but LEAN OVER 6.5 (-140).
Or if you’d like to wait until after the puck drops to catch an in-game “live” bet at either Over 6.5 at plus-money or catch an Over 5.5, that was successful a lot in the regular season with Florida games.