Capitals at Flyers Preview and Betting Pick
The game of the week in the NHL is the Capitals at Flyers matchup on Saturday, March 13th at 7:00 pm EST.
The Capitals and Flyers meet again for the fourth time this season with the Capitals taking a 2-1 series lead after Thursday night’s 5-3 win. The Flyers average four goals a game against the Capitals, and the Capitals also average four goals per game against the Flyers. This has been one of the best constant series between two teams of this weirdly scheduled season so far.
Capitals at Flyers Matchup Overview
Since Flyers first-line forward Sean Couturier returned to the ice after missing the first month and a half of the season he’s scored a point in all but one game, that’s 10 of a possible 11 games he’s recorded at least a point in. With longtime Captain Claude Giroux slacking, to say the least, this season the emergence of Couturier has been exactly what the Flyers needed. Since his return, the Flyers are 6-5. Fun fact, in his very first game of the season on 2/7/21 Couturier, recorded 2 goals and an assist, against the Washington Capitals.
The Washington Capitals somehow stayed afloat while goalie Ilya Samsonov nursed an upper-body injury. The Capitals currently sit at 15-6-4, right behind the New York Islanders, for second place in the eastern division. Alex Ovechkin has two goals this week, and guess which team he netted both of them against? This Philadelphia Flyers team. It doesn’t matter who’s in net, Ovechkin has scored against all three Flyers goalies at least once so far this season.
Captain and Assistant Captain for the Flyers, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek have struggled so far this season. Both of them combined only have seven goals so far this season. To put into perspective how poorly they’ve been playing this season Sean Couturier missed more than a month this season and has six goals compared to their seven total. Voracek and Giroux also have a combined +/- rating of +3 on the season. They need to step up with the likes of Travis Konecny and Sean Couturier if the Flyers want to make the playoffs at this pace.
The Flyers had a hot start to the season even sitting as the top seed in the eastern division for a little bit. But with the downplay of their two stars, the piling up of injuries, and the inconsistent play of their goaltenders they have dropped to all the way out of the playoffs as the fifth seed in the east. The Capitals have been very consistent this season, never falling out of the top four seeds in the eastern division.
Plus with the return of their goalie of the future Ilya Samsonov, and one of their pivotal wingers Tom Wilson, they should be poised to make a run at the Islanders and the Penguins for the top seed down the stretch. If the Flyers can find consistent offense with semi-consistent goaltending they will also be a nuisance and could possibly overtake the Bruins for that fourth and final playoff spot.
Catch this game on your local NHL Network or local NBCSports channel on Saturday night 3/13 at 7:00 pm EST.
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