Trevor Zegras will make his return to Anaheim when the Philadelphia Flyers (31-23-12) and Anaheim Ducks (37-27-3) face off Wednesday evening. Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. ET at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
The Ducks are priced at +164 to cover the puck line (-1.5), with the over/under set at 6.5 (-105o / -115u). The Ducks are a -155 favorite to win outright, while the Flyers are +130 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Flyers vs. Ducks predictions and NHL picks.
Flyers vs. Ducks Odds, Pick
| Flyers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -198 | 6.5 -105o / -115u | +130 |
| Ducks Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +164 | 6.5 -105o / -115u | -155 |
- Flyers vs. Ducks Spread: Flyers +1.5 (-198), Ducks -1.5 (+164)
- Flyers vs. Ducks Over/Under: 6.5 (-105o / -115u)
- Flyers vs. Ducks Moneyline: Flyers +130, Ducks -155
Flyers vs. Ducks Preview
Philadelphia Flyers
With a mark of 6-3-1 over the last 10 games, Philadelphia has been able to keep its playoff hopes on life support, but it will likely take at least 23 points from the final 16 games for it to have a realistic chance. Odds are the Flyers' playoff drought will be extended to six straight seasons.
The Flyers will eclipse their preseason betting total of 83.5 points, which could be taken as a strong review of head coach Rick Tocchet's work in his first season as bench boss with Philadelphia.
Looking into the Flyers' process and underlying metrics this season, though, it seems that the only true year-over-year progress has come in goal, as newcomer Dan Vladar has had a strong season after the Flyers received the league's worst goaltending last season.
Philadelphia ranks 17th in expected goal share this season and has allowed 3.20 xGA/60. Both of those marks are considerably worse than what the team accomplished last season under head coach John Tortorella.
Trevor Zegras has proven to be a savvy pickup for the Flyers, as he has bounced back with 54 points in 66 games. While Tocchet has been given credit from mainstream NHL media for Zegras's bounce-back campaign, he was an extremely natural bounce-back candidate after being misused by much-maligned Ducks head coach Greg Cronin last season.
Over the last 10 games, the Flyers have held a 45.10% expected goal share and have generated only 20.91 shots on goal per 60. Though they do appear to be competing hard and playing a strong physical game, their lack of puck possession and dated offensive process has led to a lackluster output of scoring chances.
Vladar is expected to get the start in goal on Wednesday. He holds a +11.3 GSAx rating and a .905 save percentage across 41 games played this season.
Anaheim Ducks
It seemed likely that the Ducks' budding young roster would show significant year-over-year improvement under proven head coach Joel Quenneville this season.
The Ducks' roster offers several key pieces that were always likely to improve one year further into their development, while Cronin appeared to be a notably poor coach who held many skaters back last season.
Cutter Gauthier was among the many Ducks skaters who appeared poised for a breakout, and it's fair to speculate if he would have had the same breakout playing for the Flyers, who drafted him fifth overall in 2022.
Gauthier has put up a team-high 34 goals and 59 points in 66 games played this season. He ranks second in the NHL in shots on goal per 60 this season and first in shot attempts per 60. He had a goal and three shots on goal when these teams met in Philadelphia on January 6th, much to the dismay of the Flyers' passionate fanbase.
While backing Gauthier to deliver a strong performance in this spot will be a popular angle in this matchup, his current lineup spot is a bit concerning. Gauthier practiced alongside Jeffrey Viel and Ryan Poehling on the third line Tuesday and on the second power play unit.
Quenneville has leaned into a more offensive style this season, which has appeared to be a natural fit given the roster's strengths and weaknesses. Though the Ducks have plenty of room to grow defensively, they have been a quality offensive side this season, having scored 3.21 goals per game.
Anaheim has benefited from playing in the Pacific, which has been the NHL's worst division by a wide margin. It also holds an absurd record of 8-0 in the shootout. For those two reasons, the Ducks may not be quite as formidable relative to league average as their record suggests.
The addition of John Carlson should help shore up the Ducks' back end, though, and Carlson had a solid showing in his Ducks debut on Sunday, skating 22:59 in a regulation win over the Montreal Canadiens.
After an incredible season in 2024-25, Lukas Dostal has had somewhat of a disappointing campaign with a -0.3 GSAx rating and .891 save percentage throughout 46 appearances. When true to form, he still appears to be a far better than average starter, but consistency has been an issue for Dostal this season.
Flyers vs. Ducks Prediction
Whether Tocchet's side is realistically in contention or not, it has been authoring a playoff-style of hockey in attempting to grind out points of late, which has led to some lower scorelines. The last 12 Flyers games have averaged 4.83 combined goals, and the under is 9-2-1 in those games.
The Ducks have been playing a notably high-event style of hockey, which is the key reason this game features a high total of 6.5.
I'm not sure that trend will continue in this matchup versus the ultra-low-event Flyers, though, who will likely do a good job of keeping Anaheim at bay offensively but struggle to create high-quality scoring chances themselves.
Betting on the under in Ducks games is not overly appealing, but a total of 6.5 appears notably high for any matchup featuring the Flyers, given their recent style of play.
At -120 or better, I see value betting this game to come in under 6.5 total goals.
Pick: Under 6.5 Total Goals (-115, DraftKings | Play to -120)
