Florida Panthers (27-24-6) vs. Washington Capitals (28-22-6)
February 16, 2023 7:00 pm EDT
The Line: Washington Capitals +100 / Florida Panthers -120; Over/Under: +6.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Florida Panthers and the Washington Capitals meet in NHL action from the Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Let’s dive into the odds, injuries, matchup history and make a prediction for this game.
Odds
Florida is a -120 road favorite while Washington is a +100 home underdog. The total for this game is set at 6.5 goals.
Injuries
For Florida, Sam Bennett is questionable for this game with an undisclosed injury. For Washington, Alieksai Protas is probable for this game due to a personal issue while Alex Ovechkin is out indefinitely, tending to a personal issue as well. Tom Wilson, Nic Dowd and John Carlson are also out until late February for Washington as well.
Matchup History
Florida’s 5-2 win over Washington back on November 15th, 2022, made it four straight wins for the Panthers in this matchup.
Trends
Florida is 0-6 in their last 6 games against the Metropolitan division and 5-2 in their last 7 Thursday games while the over is 6-0 in their last 6 games against the Eastern Conference. Washington is 1-4 in their last 5 home games and 4-1 in their last 5 Thursday games while the under is 5-1-1 in their last 7 games overall.
Pick
I’m backing the Panthers here. The Panthers have been playing well as of late and things went from bad to worse for Washington as Alex Ovechkin now has to step away following the death of his father, and it’s being reported that this will have him away from the team for a while for obvious reasons. It felt like a bit of an uphill battle with Ovechkin, but with him out, it makes the Caps hard to back. Give me Florida here.
