NHL Odds, Pick, Prediction: Flyers vs. Blues (March 24)

Flyers vs. Blues Odds

The St. Louis Blues have only been victorious in one out of their last four home games, but Wednesday they welcome in a very weak opponent, the Philadelphia Flyers.

The Flyers are set to play their second game of a five-game road trip which did not get off to the best start. They lost their first game to the Red Wings on Tuesday night by the score of 6-3.

Flyers Hoping to Not Finish Last in the Metro

The Flyers recently traded away their captain and they pretty much have zero chance at making the playoffs, but they are still trying to make sure that they don't end up last in the division. Philly is 20-32-11 on the season and is tied with the New Jersey Devils for last in the Metropolitan division.

The Flyers last game against the Blues didn't go so well. They fell short in a 4-1 loss, but it was a much closer game than the score implied since two of those goals were empty netters for St. Louis.

The Flyers have not been great in their defensive zone this season. They allow the fifth-most shots per game (33.8) and are giving up the ninth-most goals against (3.43). This defensive group is going to have some struggles against the fifth-highest scoring team, the St. Louis Blues.

Carter Hart is the expected starter and his record is worse than it should be with how he has played this season. Hart is 13-20-7 with a .910 save percentage and a +2.1 GSAx. He really hasn't been all that bad and his record would be much better if he had more help in front of him.

Philly has struggled offensively all season, so you can expect that to happen once again because the Blues are very strong defensively.

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Blues Fighting for Home Ice in the First Round

The race for second place is very tight in the Central since the Avalanche have pretty much run away with first.

The Blues, Wild and Predators are all within a point of each other, which means that this playoff push is about to ramp up for these three teams. Every single point matters this time of year and the Blues know that they can't waste a home game against a weak team.

The Blues are coming off a dominant win on the road against the Washington Capitals, defeating them by the score of 5-2. St. Louis outshot the Capitals 37-21 and Ville Husso played excellent in goal.

Husso has started the last three games for the team and it appears that he has taken over the duties of the number one goalie. He is 16-5-4 on the season with a .925 save percentage and a +14.8 GSAx.

Husso has been the backbone of a solid defensive core that only allows 2.77 goals per game, which has them ranked ninth in defensive proficiency.

St. Louis is a much better offensive team as well. The Blues score 3.55 goals per game and have the third-best power play. They should be able to take advantage of a flawed Flyers defense.

Flyers vs. Blues Pick

This one seems very simple to me. The Blues have so much to play for since the race for second is getting very tight, while the Flyers simply have nothing to play for.

I expect a very urgent first period from the Blues, which should set the tone for the entire 60 minutes. St. Louis is the better team in every single aspect of this game and I am beyond confident that it will come out victorious. The Blues are 20-7-4 on home ice while the Flyers are a complete mess on the road at 7-17-5.

I think the Blues will win in regulation but there is a lot of juice on the 60-minute line. I do however think they will cover the puck line at much better value. I expect a very strong effort from the Blues.

Pick: St. Louis Blues -1.5 -110