The Flyers look to sweep the Pittsburgh Penguins in Philadelphia. 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, the Flyers are bringing out the brooms, hoping to end the series in Game 4.
NHL Predictions featuring the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins
Regular Season Head-to-Head: Flyers 2-2 Penguins
Playoff Series: Flyers 3-0 Penguins
How to Watch: Sportsnet+, TVAS+, SN, TVAS, HBO MAX, TBS, truTV, NBCSP, SN-PIT
Puck Drop: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)
Penguins Story
Credit Image: © Richard Ulreich/Cal Sport Media
The Penguins come into this game down 3-0 in the series. Facing elimination far earlier than they would’ve hoped, Pittsburgh needs to battle hard and control tempo if they want any chance to salvage anything from this series. The Penguins have been completely outplayed for eight out of the nine periods played so far, with the first period of Game 3 being the one they can argue they definitively won. Not only will they need to strike first again in this game, but they’ll need to keep that kind of play up for all sixty minutes in order to elongate a potentially short series.
Evgeni Malkin opened the scoring in Game 3 with a power play goal. The upcoming free agent has two goals and an assist for three points through three games. In the second, a costly penalty would lead to a tie goal, and eventually turn into a 3-1 Flyers lead after two. In the third, Erik Karlsson scored to cut the lead to one, once again, on the power play. Unfortunately, this would be all she wrote for the Penguins, as Philadelphia would win the game 5-2. Outside of these goals, there weren’t many chances for the Penguins, especially after the Flyers’ eruption of goals in the second period.
In net, Stuart Skinner continues to play well. Although he was scored on four times in the previous game, he kept Pittsburgh in it as best as he could. Some much-needed goal support could go a long way to insulate Skinner. While it’s likely he plays Game 4, it’s always a good idea to check official lineups before placing any bets.
Flyers Story
The Post-Olympic break momentum has continued to flow for the Flyers. After an incredible run to qualify for the first round, Philadelphia has executed a suffocating defensive game from all positions in order to stifle the second-highest scoring team in the regular season. In Game 4, the Flyers’ job will simply be to continue executing their game plan and stifle any Penguins offence.
The offence of the Flyers exploded in the second period of Game Three. After a Trevor Zegras power-play goal tied the game, defencemen Rasmus Ristolainen and Nick Seeler would get themselves on the scoresheet to get the Flyers ahead 3-1. With Pittsburgh surging, having cut the lead to 3-2, Noah Cates would score the backbreaker on the power play with just seven and a half left in the third period. This goal completely deflated Pittsburgh, and the Flyers cruised to the victory.
Dan Vladar played another stellar game, making 27 saves on 29 shots. With a cumulative .946 save percentage, Vladar has quelled a ton of doubts about his ability with this series. However, it should be noted that Vladar seemed to hurt his arm in the third period. While he remained in the game, this could be an issue going forward.
Prediction
Pittsburgh is completely flat. While they’re capable of stringing together a good 5-10 minutes, like in the first period of Game Three, they’ve also shown that they can’t keep this up all game long. Playing in Philadelphia, expect the Flyers to continue feeding on the raucous home crowd’s energy and beat the Penguins with another flurry of goals.
Prediction: Flyers win Game Four 4-3
Prop Bet of the Night
While the Penguins are set to push hard, a lacklustre commitment to defence means the Flyers have the advantage. Expecting a high-scoring game, a popular prop bet of goals over six with odds of +100 is a good one.
Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
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