Washington Capitals at Florida Panthers Game 5 Preview/Prop Picks

The top-seeded Florida Panthers head home to face the Washington Capitals for Game 5 of their First Round Playoff series. Florida was able to pick up a win on the road in Game 4 to even up the series at two wins apiece.

Washington might be the lowest seed in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but this is a team with plenty of postseason experience. The Capitals started the series off with a win in Florida and are looking to pull off the trick again.

Florida won the Presidents Trophy this season after having a phenomenal regular season. The Panthers have taken home ice advantage back from the Capitals and can simply win the series by taking both games at home. 

The Florida Panthers are the moneyline betting favorites at -220 over the Washington Capitals in this Game 5 showdown. 

Veterans Leading the Capitals

The Washington Capitals have so much postseason experience on their roster, and those veterans have been stepping up. T.J. Oshie leads the team with three postseason goals, and Evgeny Kuznetsov has scored a pair. 

Washington scored right around 3.3 goals per game this season, but they don’t have the ability to outscore the Panthers with any regularity. The Capitals have done a great job of being physical in this series, but they have to take some offensive chances.

The Capitals struggled to get anything going on offense in the Game 4 loss, and it put goaltender Ilya Samsonov in a tough spot. Samsonov has only allowed four goals in three postseason games, but the Capitals have to take some pressure off.

Florida Wants to Play Fast

The Florida Panthers averaged over four goals per game during the regular season, and they want to play fast when they have the puck. Florida hasn’t had as much success on offense in the postseason, and it’s time for Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov to step up.

Huberdeau led the team with 115 points during the regular season, but he has the full attention of the Washington Capitals. This is also a team that scored on the power play 24 percent of the time this season, but they haven’t had the same luck.

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped just 14 shots in the Game 4 win, but the Capitals only managed 16 shots on goal. Florida is not known for being a great defensive team, but they have been playing well of late. 

Florida Finds a Way

Washington has pushed Florida harder than most thought were possible, but the Capitals also missed a golden opportunity in Game 4. The Panthers now come into this game with a ton of momentum, and they are going to be hard to beat on their home ice.

Both of these teams continue to be excellent on the offensive end of the ice, but things are going to start tightening up. Washington will once again look to be physical in slowing down Florida, but the Panthers just have so many weapons. 

This will be another thrilling game in the series, but Washington will come up just a bit short. Bet the Florida Panthers -220 as they get another late goal in this game to sneak past the Washington Capitals and take a 3-2 series lead.

Prop Picks

Florida (-150) OVER 3.5 Goals

Florida is averaging 4.1 goals per game on offense, which ranks No. 1 in the league, while generating 37.3 shots per game, which also ranks No. 1. Scores have gone OVER in nine of the Panthers’ last 12 games versus Washington.

With Dunkel predicting a Florida victory by the score of 5-4, take the Panthers (-150) to finish OVER their Vegas team point total of 3.5 goals against the Capitals.

Aleksander Barkov (+115) Anytime Goalscorer

Barkov had 39 goals in 67 games during the regular season, which ranked No. 1 on the Panthers and tied for No. 18 in the league. The veteran center had 16 goals in 31 home games and 30 goals in 49 games during Florida wins.

With Dunkel predicting a Florida home win with the final score going OVER the Vegas total, take Barkov (+115) to pick up a goal against Washington.

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