The Penguins host the Flyers in a classic rivalry matchup. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here with Last Word On Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for games around the NHL. In tonight’s matchup, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia jockey for positioning in the Eastern playoff race.
NHL Predictions
Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Head-to-Head: Flyers 1-1 Penguins
Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
Penguins Story
The Penguins come into this game off a 2-1 loss in the shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning. With the loss, the Penguins have lost three straight and are 7-3-0 in their last 10. With a record of 21-14-10, Pittsburgh is in contention for a wild card spot, just a couple of points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second spot in the East. Even though they’ve lost the past three games, the Penguins have played stellar defensively, allowing just four total goals over the skid. Where the Penguins have surprisingly struggled is offensively, scoring just three goals over this time.
While the Penguins are desperate for offence all throughout their lineup, the second line has definitely not been an issue. Evgeni Malkin scored the lone Penguins goal with just minutes to go against Tampa Bay, forcing overtime and nabbing Pittsburgh a critical point in the standings. He, along with Egor Chinakhov and whoever they’ve been paired with on a given night, have been a productive line for the Penguins.
The Penguins will need a lot more from the rest of their team, however, including the top line. Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell have been uncharacteristically quiet over this time, leading to a lot of the problems the Penguins are facing at the moment. As Pittsburgh goes through this dearth of scoring, another factor that doesn’t help is that star defenceman Erik Karlsson is still injured for another couple of weeks. With his absence, players like Kris Letang will need to step up.
In net, expect Stuart Skinner to get the start as Arturs Silovs played their last game. Skinner is 3-4-0 in his time with Pittsburgh, pitching a .899 save percentage over this time. He’ll need to be better against a tough Flyers squad.
Flyers Story
Philadelphia comes into this game off of a 5-2 loss against the Buffalo Sabres. With the loss, the Flyers are 4-5-1 in their last 10. Their overall record of 22-15-8 places them just around the wildcard race alongside the Penguins. A stellar defensive system led by head coach Rick Tocchet has been a key factor in the Flyers’ success this season. Under his leadership, the Flyers have given up the seventh-fewest goals in the NHL. Injuries and some underperformances, however, have led to an offence that’s performed worse than expected.
The Flyers are led in scoring by forward Trevor Zegras. He has 18 goals and 42 points in 45 games. Behind him, Travis Konecny has had an impressive season, silencing some trade rumours out of Philly. He has 14 goals and 39 points in 44 games. Forwards such as Christian Dvorak and Noah Cates have also produced better than expected.
However, an area that the Flyers have struggled with is getting offence out of their perceived future star player, Matvei Michkov. After a fantastic 60+ point rookie season under head coach John Tortorella, the young forward has struggled under Rick Tocchet. Through 44 games, Michkov has just nine goals and 23 points. Another area where the Flyers have struggled is getting offensive production from the blue line. Travis Sanheim is the highest-scoring defender on the Flyers, with just five goals and 19 points in 45 games.
On the second half of a back-to-back, expect Sam Ersson to start against Pittsburgh after Dan Vladar played last night and left with an injury. Ersson is 6-6-4 with a .858 save percentage this season. He may be the exact kind of goalie Pittsburgh needs to face to get out of their own scoring slump.
Prediction
The Penguins have been better than their record over their prior three games would suggest. The Flyers, meanwhile, seem to be in a downward slump at the moment, and come into this game on the second half of a challenging back-to-back against a soaring Buffalo Sabres squad. Expect Pittsburgh to get a much-needed two points in this game.
Prop Bet of the Night
Pittsburgh seems primed for a scoring outburst after the past few games, while the Flyers themselves have some good weapons as well. Expect a high-scoring game, in which a popular prop bet of goals over seven with odds of +198 is a good bet.
Main photo by: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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