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The Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers will meet in an NHL matchup tonight. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EDT at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, PA. The game will be broadcast live on TNT.
The Flyers are favored at 57 cents on the moneyline, with the Penguins 44 cents to pull off the upset. The over/under is set at 6.
Let's get into our Penguins vs. Flyers predictions and NHL picks.
Penguins vs. Flyers Prediction
- Pick: Philadelphia Flyers 57c (Play to 59c)
Our Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia best bet is on the Flyers to win outright, currently available at Polymarket. For all your NHL bets, find the best lines on our live NHL odds page.
Penguins vs Flyers Odds
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Penguins vs Flyers Preview
Pittsburgh Penguins Preview
The Penguins overachieved in the 2025-26 season, with several reclamation projects paying off while most of their aging stars stayed healthy for most of the regular season.
With both the Capitals and Devils expected to be significantly improved in the Metropolitan Division, oddsmakers are less optimistic about Pittsburgh’s chances of returning to the postseason. The Penguins are currently priced at +190 to make the playoffs.
The Penguins will be without three of last season's more effective forwards in Wednesday's matchup, as Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel will be unavailable due to injury, while Anthony Mantha signed with the New Jersey Devils in the offseason.
Some skaters could step into bigger roles, including Nick Robertson, who is likely to start on the top line in Wednesday's matchup, as well as Ville Koivunen and Filip Hallander.
While the Penguins' forward corps certainly has some question marks for the time being with Rust and Kindel sidelined, the team's back end has some significant ones. Declan Carlile is set to play on the top pairing alongside Erik Karlsson, while Trevor Van Riemsdyk and Kris Letang form an unconvincing second pairing.
Carlile could certainly prove to be another savvy bet from Kyle Dubas, but if not, the unit looks like a clear weakness for now.
The Penguins' goaltending duo of Arturs Silovs and elite prospect Sergei Murashov offers a ton of upside but is far from guaranteed to be overly effective.
Silovs finished the 2025-26 season with a -11.9 GSAx rating, and though he has had some excellent stretches in his brief NHL career, he has to be viewed as a below-average option to start the season. He is likely to get the start in Wednesday's matchup.
Philadelphia Flyers Preview
Over the final 28 games of the 2025-26 regular season, Rick Tocchet's Flyers posted the NHL's second-best xGA/60. They boast numerous strong two-way forwards and a rock-solid defensive core, while their well-organized defensive structure should provide a reliable foundation and keep the team's floor relatively high.
While Tocchet deserves some credit for the Flyers' forward progress last season, Dan Vladar offering elite play in goal was still the biggest area for improvement after the team suffered the league's worst goaltending in 2024-25.
Samuel Ersson was still one of the league's worst backups last season, though, which is another reason for optimism entering this year. If Joseph Woll stays healthy, the team should post a higher winning percentage when Vladar does not start.
Whether or not the Flyers roster gets elite offensive play from some combination of Trevor Zegras, Porter Martone, Owen Tippett, and ideally, Matvei Michkov this season should determine whether they trend towards true contention.
Martone was excellent in a small sample at the tail end of last season, but it's far from guaranteed that he will immediately be an effective top liner. The opportunity is certainly there, which is a key reason that he is among the Calder Trophy favorites.
Michkov has reportedly come into camp in much better shape than last year and has the potential for much greater results if he stays in Tocchet's good books and earns more meaningful usage.
Vladar will likely get the start in Wednesday's matchup, after posting a +13.8 GSAx rating and 2.42 GAA across 52 games last season.
Penguins vs. Flyers Pick
It wouldn't be shocking if the Penguins' back end holds up and the team stays in playoff contention. Dan Muse got the most out of a lot of unknowns last season, and their goal differential and underlying metrics suggested they were legitimately solid.
But for the time being, with Rust and Kindel out, there aren't as many known commodities up front, while the blue line and goaltending could be concerns. Out of the gate, I will likely avoid fading Murashov as a heavy underdog, but Silovs will likely get the chance to earn the number-one role and start in Wednesday's matchup.
If you review opening-week results year to year, they generally aren't indicative of much, which is always a little frightening, since it can be hard to assume which teams will come out of the gate with solid form. The Flyers feel like a decent candidate to get off to a strong start, though; there's very little meaningful roster turnover, and their defensive structure was rock-solid at the end of last year, and we likely won't see many structural changes early on.
At 57c, the Flyers feel to be worth a bet playing in their home opener versus a Penguins side that definitely has some question marks relative to last season.
Best Bet: Philadelphia Flyers 57c | Play to 59c (Polymarket)
