{"id":462300,"date":"2025-02-08T16:25:29","date_gmt":"2025-02-08T21:25:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=462300"},"modified":"2025-02-08T16:25:29","modified_gmt":"2025-02-08T21:25:29","slug":"nhl-predictions-13","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2025\/02\/08\/nhl-predictions-13\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Predictions: February 8 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania rivals face-off as the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/penguins\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> take on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/flyers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Philadelphia Flyers<\/a>. Welcome back to <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/category\/nhl-predictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">NHL Predictions<\/a> here on Last Word on Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL\u2019s games. In the final game before the Four Nations Face-Off, both of these teams are looking to gauge where their roster is at prior to the break.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>NHL Predictions<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><strong>Head-to-Head:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguins 1-0 Flyers<\/h4>\n<p><strong>Time:<\/strong>\u00a07:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)<\/p>\n<p><strong>TV:<\/strong>\u00a0NBC Sports Philadelphia; AT&amp;T SportsNet Pittsburgh; ESPN+<\/p>\n<p>This is the second matchup between these teams this season. The Penguins took a 7-3 win over the Flyers back in December in their first encounter.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Penguins\u2019 Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Penguins are 23-24-9, having won three of their last four games. The Penguins record has placed them third-last in the Eastern Conference. Following a win over the New York Rangers last night, the Penguins will need another strong effort from their depth. Captain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/c\/crosbsi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sidney Crosby<\/a> missed the game against New York and is likely to miss another as he gears up to act as captain for Team Canada. Franchise star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/malkiev01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Evgeni Malkin<\/a> is also out with injury.<\/p>\n<p>These injuries have left the team with a lack of forward depth. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rakelri01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rickard Rakell<\/a> leads the way offensively, with a point against the Rangers, he has 47 points through 55 games. He\u2019s quickly making himself a valuable trade piece at the deadline. Veteran <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/rustbr01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bryan Rust<\/a> is having a fantastic offensive season as well, scoring 42 points in 48 games.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>The Flyers\u2019 Story<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The Philadelphia Flyers are 23-26-7, sitting second-last in the East. With a 3-6-1 record in their last 10, the team is looking to gain some momentum heading into the break. Travis Konecy leads the team in scoring with 59 in 56 games. Rookie star <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/m\/michkma01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matvei Michkov<\/a> is behind him, with 36 points in 54 games through his inaugural NHL season.<\/p>\n<p>A lack of scoring has been an issue plaguing the Flyers all season. Behind Konecy and Michkov, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tippeow01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Owen Tippett<\/a> is the only other player to score 30 or more points through 56 games played. In addition to an anemic offence, the Flyers\u2019 goaltending situation leaves a lot to be desired. Samuel Errsson is 15-10-3 with an .894 save percentage. Errsson was expected to take a step this season, but his play has been rocky. However, without Crosby and Malkin, whichever Flyer goalie starts this game won\u2019t have to worry about the two of the biggest threats on the Penguins.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Prediction<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Given the Flyers&#8217; recent struggles and the uncertainty surrounding Crosby&#8217;s availability, this is likely to be a tight one. However, Rakell, Rust, and players like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/t\/tomasph01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2025-02-07_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Philip Tomasino<\/a> have shown the ability to provide some depth scoring. Expect the Penguins to continue their momentum heading into the break.<\/p>\n<p><em>Prediction: Penguins win 3-2.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2><strong>Prop Bet for the Night<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Total Goals Over-4 \u00a0(-650)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Considering both teams&#8217; recent offensive struggles and key injuries, a low-scoring game is likely between these long-time rivals.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pennsylvania rivals face-off as the Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Welcome back to NHL Predictions here on Last Word on Hockey! Each day, we provide in-depth analysis, insights, and predictions for all the NHL\u2019s games. In the final game before the Four Nations Face-Off, both of these teams are looking to gauge where [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5231,"featured_media":434944,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4547,4548,16,12,4524],"tags":[7074,6082,6123,724,140],"class_list":["post-462300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-flyers","category-penguins","category-nhl-predictions","tag-matvei-michkov","tag-philadelphia-flyers-predictions","tag-pittsburgh-penguins-predictions","tag-rickard-rakell","tag-sidney-crosby"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5231"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462300"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462300\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":462306,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462300\/revisions\/462306"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}