Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers Predictions, Odds & Picks

• Washington Capitals face their first disparate test
• Philadelphia can soar to the top of the conference with a win
• Checking in on the latest team trends

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Capitals vs Flyers Predictions and Pick

Despite dropping their opening game in overtime to Tampa Bay on Monday, the Capitals are still favored to take out the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night. The Caps ended the season with a better record than Philly thanks to their early-season surge so that gives them a slight edge.

We definitely emphasize the word “slight” here too. Washington finished the year just one-point ahead of the Flyers and Philadelphia is coming off a 4-1 win over Boston in their opening round-robin game. A win in this game could help seal a top-two spot for the orange and black.

Philly has continued their hot end to the season with a great start in their return to play quest.

Pick:

Philadelphia Flyers +110

A Closer Look at the Trends

The road opponent is 5-2 through the last seven meetings between these two. Meanwhile the Over has been hit in seven of their last 10 tilts.

How to Watch Capitals vs Flyers

NHL Return to Play Format

The National Hockey League has done a tremendous job with their new format. Compared to Major League Baseball, professional hockey is lightyears ahead. They’ve selected two Canadian hub cities where the pandemic is lighter amongst the population. Their testing is extensive and they’ve done a good job arranging their player and team bubbles.

For these two teams, the round-robin tournament is in full effect. Each of these two clubs are playing for the highest seeding in the Eastern Conference with the four highest-ranked teams from the regular season (by win percentage) vying for the top spot. They play a three-game tournament amongst each other with the teams seeding accordingly from there.

Washington Faces Their First Desperate Test

At the end of the day, each of these teams are going to the NHL playoff quarterfinals and the game experience is what they’re really gunning for right now. Each team wants to feel like they’re right back where they were five months ago so facing a big test as the Caps have in front of them here isn’t a bad thing.

Washington needs a win to have any chance at a high speed in said quarterfinals. Of the four top spots available heading into the postseason, the Caps are currently at the bottom looking up after their loss to the Lightning. However, facing desperation now is a good primer for potentially facing a similar situation when the playoffs actually kick in in a few days.

With that, how does Washington get into the win column? It’s going to all start with eliminating close chances. Their defense within six feet around their own net needs to be better and their awareness needs to kick up a gear or two.

Each of Tampa Bay’s goals the other night were from below the hash marks. Given, Nikita Kucherov’s shot was incredible from that angle, the Caps need to do a better job of closing out. It was their Achilles heel in their opening game and was also a nagging issue late in the regular season as well.

The Flyers Certainly Can Continue Their Hot Form

We wondered. We pondered. We saw and now we believe. We knew the Flyers looked great to end the 2020 regular season, but nobody quite knew what to expect at the start of the round-robin tourney – especially against the league’s best team in the Boston Bruins. After a convincing 4-1 win though, it’s time to admit…we believe!

The Flyers are a very young team that is still prone to cough ups and mistakes. With Carter Hart playing like Jordan Binnington of one year ago though this team can rest a little easier after a few turnovers. With him between the pipes, these Flyers truly could have what it takes. Hart looked calm, cool under pressure, and ready for the challenge on Sunday and we believe he can continue his strong start.

Washington will come out of the gates hungry in this one mind you. Not to take anything away from the Bruins, but they know they’re the team to beat and clearly underestimated the Flyers. The Caps will be a different story.

Washington is playing for their round-robin lives here and will need to be treacherous right from the drop. The Flyers need to stay defensively sound and play the true Alain Vigneault counter-attack system to the best of their ability. The Capitals are notorious at times for coming up ice, shooting and retreating. If Philly can create some turnovers and get some bodies in the way of shots resulting in quick breaks the other way, they could end this one quickly.