In their tremendous history, the Philadelphia Flyers had never won a game, regular season or playoffs, in which they managed fewer than a dozen shots on goal. That all changed in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. Now, the Flyers are back in business after seeming dead in the water after falling behind 3-0 in this series, and they have a shot to level the proceedings on Sunday afternoon in Game 6.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
This is an interesting line to analyze for Game 6. The Capitals were massive -224 favorites in Game 5, and they really played like it. They outshot Philadelphia 44-11 on the night, and they were incredibly unlucky not to get at least one on the board.
Still, Philadelphia has a ton of momentum now with two wins in a row, and it won't be anywhere near as big of a dog as it was in Game 4 at +137 in all likelihood. Don't be surprised if the Caps are only around -130 or so in this game in spite of the fact that they have definitively been the better of the two teams in four of the first five games.
GOALIE REPORT
Michal Neuvirth has made all the difference here for the Flyers. Can you imagine if Steve Mason had to face 44 shots as Neuvirth did in Game 5? He'd be liable to give up seven or eight goals on that many shots. Neuvirth meanwhile, now has 75 saves on 76 shots in two games, including posting that amazing shutout on the road in Game 5 when all of the pressure was on him for the full 60 minutes.
Braden Holtby has to wonder what in the heck he has to do in order to finish this series off. He's got a 1.01 GAA and a .961 save percentage, yet he's just 3-2 in spite of the fact that he's got arguably the best team in the NHL in front of him. Holtby has allowed just five goals in the five games, and he's only let more than one behind him once in that span.
Philadelphia's second goal on Friday night was an empty netter with just 31 seconds left to play.
LIVE BETTING
Part of the problem the Capitals had was that they couldn't stay out of the penalty box and couldn't take advantage when they had the man advantage. Justin Williams took a double minor in the first two minutes of the game, and from there, he was in the box two other times over the course of the night.
The penalties, for the most part, were really of the dumb variety as well. Several unnecessary shots which were late, and Jason Chimera's boarding call in the third was luckily not called a double minor or a major.
The Capitals were still easily the better of the two teams in spite of their penalty problem, but if they're in the box seven or eight times in this game as they were on Friday, they could be in some trouble.
QUICK PICK
We still don't see a way back here for Philadelphia. Neuvirth was the team's backup goalie coming into the playoffs for a reason, and though special things do happen from time to time with these backups, we just don't see it out of him if he isn't getting help from the men in front of him.
Claude Giroux hasn't scored a goal in this series, and he only has one point to show for his work over the course of the five games. That's all you need to know. The Flyers just don't have it offensively, and if the Capitals pour on the pressure on Sunday, that's where this series will end.
NHL Odds: Capitals 4, Flyers 1
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! Game 6 of this series between the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers will commence on Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 12:00 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center. The contest will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
