Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals NHL Picks & Predictions 10/21/2017

Saturday, October 21, 2017

Capital One Arena

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Florida Panthers travel to Capital One Arena to play the Washington Capitals on Saturday, October 21, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Panthers at +122 and the Capitals at -135.

Florida has a record of 2-3-0 this season and on the road they have a record of 0-3-0. They are 6th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 17 goals and given up 20 goals for a point differential of -3. For the season they have an ATS record of 2-3-0 and an over/under record of 5-0-0. Washington has a record of 3-3-1 including 1-2-0 at home this season. They are 6th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 23 goals and surrendered 24 for a goal differential of -1. Their record against the spread is 3-4-0 while their over/under record is 5-2-0.

Valuable Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 2-3-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 5-0-0 against the over/under this season

Important Washington Capitals Betting Trends

The Washington Capitals are 3-4-0 straight up this year

The Washington Capitals are 5-2-0 against the over/under this season

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

10/17/17 RW Colton Sceviour Head is "?" Friday vs. Pittsburgh

Key Washington Capitals Injuries

10/19/17 C Lars Eller Illness is "?" Friday vs. Detroit
10/19/17 C Tyler Graovac Upper Body is out indefinitely
10/14/17 D Matt Niskanen Upper Body IR (10/13)

Player Spotlight

Roberto Luongo has 1 win and 2 losses this season in net for the Panthers. He has 101 shots against him and he's given up 10 goals. He's made 91 saves for a save percentage of 90%. Nick Bjugstad has accumulated 5 total points this season for the Panthers. He has 2 goals this year with 14 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 14%. He has a total of 3 assists on the season and averages 13.4 minutes played per game. Evgeni Dadonov averages 18.6 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 10% by scoring 1 goal on 10 shots. He has 4 assists, giving him a total of 5 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Nicklas Backstrom has scored 11 total points this year for the Capitals. He has 3 goals this season with 9 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 33%. He has a total of 8 assists on the season and averages 19.9 minutes played per game. Braden Holtby has 3 wins and 2 losses this year in goal for the Capitals. He has 159 shots against him and he's surrendered 11 goals. He's made 148 saves for a save percentage of 93%. Alex Ovechkin averages 18.3 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 23% by scoring 9 goals on 39 shots. He has 1 assist, giving him a total of 10 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Panthers have allowed 21 power play opportunities and have given up 5 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76% this year. That is 25th in the NHL. They average 42 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.13% for the season. They allow 33 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 88%, which is ranked 27th in the league. The Panthers has 4 total points this season, ranking 26th in the NHL in offense. They are 23rd in the league with 17 goals while they've given up 20 goals, which is 18th overall. They have had 24 power play opportunities and scored 4 goals on those chances for a percentage of 17%. That is 19th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Capitals are 11th with 23 goals scored while they are 6th in the NHL with 24 goals allowed this year. They average 26 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 12.78%. They give up 34 shots per game and have a save percentage of 90%, putting them in 20th place in the league. The Capitals have a total of 7 points this year, which is 19th in the NHL. They have 6 power play goals on 23 opportunities for a percentage of 26%. That ranks their power play unit 8th. They've allowed 28 power play opportunities and have given up 6 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 79%, which is 19th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Florida has a Corsi percentage of 54.2% as they've tried 340 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 287 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 4th in Corsi percentage. They are 4th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 55% as they have 271 shots while they've given up 222 attempts on defense. The Panthers start possessions in the offensive zone 50.6% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.4% for the year. That puts them 17th and 12th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 172 face-off wins as opposed to 160 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51.8%. That is 10th overall in the NHL. On defense Florida has 97 hits and they've blocked 65 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 29th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Capitals are 28th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 45.9% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 54.1% for the season, which is 6th in the NHL. They have 225 face-off wins compared to 208 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52%. That is 13th in the league. On defense Washington has 157 hits and they have blocked 91 shots from the opposition, which is 20th in the league. Washington is 29th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 45.9% as they've attempted 361 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 426 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 43.9% ranks 31st as they have 262 attempts while they have given up 335 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Panthers/Capitals NHL game against the spread?

Tony's Pick: Take Washington -135

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