The Philadelphia Flyers (43-27-12) and Pittsburgh Penguins (41-25-16) meet in the NHL tonight. Puck drop is set for 8:00 p.m. EDT at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN.
The Penguins are favored by -1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 6.5 (-107o / -115u). The Penguins are a -145 favorite to win outright, while the Flyers are +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Flyers vs. Penguins predictions and NHL picks.
Flyers vs. Penguins Odds, Pick
| Flyers Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -205 | 6.5 -107o / -115u | +120 |
| Penguins Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +167 | 6.5 -107o / -115u | -145 |
- Flyers vs. Penguins Spread: Penguins -1.5 (+167 ), Flyers +1.5 (-205)
- Flyers vs. Penguins Over/Under: 6.5 (-107o / -115u)
- Flyers vs. Penguins Moneyline: Flyers +120, Penguins -145
Flyers vs Penguins Kalshi Odds
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Flyers vs. Penguins Preview
Philadelphia Flyers
Everyone thought the Flyers were dead in the water this season, including me. But after looking at my betting history, are you even surprised?
Philadelphia has a hot young core led by Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras. In addition to those two, Owen Tippett has a laser for a shot, and we've seen Noah Cates act as one of the best third-line centers in the NHL.
I'll be curious about how Dan Vladar does. This is his first season as a full-time starter for a team and he's done wonderfully. This season, he's posted a .906 SV% and a 7.0 GSAx over his last 10 games.
He's been a big reason the Flyers have made a late surge to get into the playoffs, but Rick Tocchet has his boys humming. Over the last 10 games, Philly is ranked sixth in expected goals, and it leads the league in expected goals against.
So, it'll be interesting to watch this inexperienced group take on the wily vets in the Penguins.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are in a situation that I don't think even they expected.
Captain Sidney Crosby has continued to be an ageless wonder, but the one true revelation has been the team's depth. You know what you're going to get from established veterans like Erik Karlsson, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. Still, guys like Anthony Mantha, Ben Kindel, Tommy Novak, and Egor Chinakhov stepped up massively.
Kindel is only 18 years old and experienced a slowdown after the Olympic break, but his 17 goals throughout the season showed that Pittsburgh is in great hands.
Over the final 10 games, Pittsburgh definitely struggled at 5-on-5 play, and even finished the season on a three-game losing streak, but I'm not necessarily worried about it. Once Sid locks into playoff mode, it may be a different story.
One thing that I am curious about is the goaltending.
Both Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs are very similar goalies, but Skinner has been playing his best hockey since coming to Pittsburgh in the Tristan Jarry trade.
I'd anticipate Skinner getting the nod with his exceptional playoff experience. He can be hit-or-miss, but once he hits, he does a solid job at keeping his team alive.
Flyers vs. Penguins Prediction
I'm in the mood to play contrarian tonight.
I think there's a lot of potential for Philadelphia to come out with a win, especially given how slow Pittsburgh was to close out the season.
Not only that, the goaltender factor is definitely a concern of mine if I were Pittsburgh.
According to Ryan Sura, since 2020-21, 21 teams have entered the playoffs with a bottom-10 SV% over the final month of the season. The Penguins ranked 27th in that category.
Even though Skinner has played strongly to close out the season, I worry that the Penguins' legs are starting to slow down, which plays perfectly into the hands of the Flyers.
The public loves Pittsburgh tonight, especially because they're home, but the Flyers are elite on the road, going 23-14-4 this season.
We're going to back the younger team in the Steel City, and ride with the Flyers.
Pick: Flyers Moneyline (+118, FanDuel)
