The Washington Capitals go up against the Philadelphia Flyers tonight at 7 p.m. on Monumental Sports Network as well as 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7 from Capital One Arena.
Tonight's betting odds per FanDuel has the Capitals at 1.5 goal favorites on home ice. The Caps have -235 moneyline odds while the Flyers are the underdog at +190. The over/under is set at 5.5 goals.
#3 Play a full 60
The Caps must play a full 60 for a lot of reasons. They get two points then they'll not only reach the 100 point plateau but could also clinch a playoff spot. Without further ado here are the scenarios.
The Caps can clinch a playoff spot IF
They defeat the Flyers in regulation AND any result in the New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens game other than an Islanders regulation win
OR if they defeat the Flyers in overtime or shootout AND the Islanders lose to the Canadiens in any fashion
OR if they lose to the Flyers in overtime or shootout AND the Columbus Blue Jackets lose to the Florida Panthers in any fashion AND the Islanders lose to the Canadiens in regulation.
If the Caps were to clinch a playoff berth tonight they would become the first team to do so this season after they were the last team to do it last season. Ironically that game last season came against the Flyers. They face them again tonight on a potential clinchmas.
#2 Penalty kill must remain top notch
In the previous game on Tuesday, neither the Capitals nor the Detroit Red Wings were assessed a penalty. It marked just the second time in franchise history Washington played a game where no penalties were called on either team. The other time was March 6, 2014 at the Boston Bruins.
The Capitals have allowed two power play goals against in 20 shorthanded situations over their last seven games which is good for 90 percent. The Caps scored two shorthanded goals on March 7 against Detroit and rank tied for eighth in the NHL in shorthanded goals with six.
Washington ranks sixth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage this season at a success rate of 82.4 percent.
#1 Get Alex Ovechkin the puck
Simple but complex. We aren't the ones out there skating. But Alex Ovechkin should and the key word is should score in one of these next two home games. Right now the math is simple that he breaks the record this season but if he's held scoreless like he was Tuesday, the math could get more complicated and we might have to wait till next season for 895.
Ovechkin has scored 51 goals in 77 career games against the Flyers which is tied for the second most goals he ahs scored against a single franchise. So he enters tonight eight shy of the record but if he can pot one or two tonight, he could break it mid April or sooner.