The Philadelphia Flyers will try and keep their faint playoff hopes alive, as they visit the New York Rangers on Sunday on NBCSN. The Flyers trail Boston for the last Wild Card spot and they are also battling with Tampa Bay, the Islanders and Carolina for that last spot. On the other side, the Rangers have already clinched a playoff spot and they are probably going to finish with the top Wild Card in the Eastern Conference.
This war on the ice will go down Sunday, April 2, 2017 at 7:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised live on NBCSN.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Sunday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Flyers are not in a good spot for this game, as they will be playing their third game in four days and with no rest, as they were home against New Jersey on Saturday. The Flyers are 14-25 on the road with 19 games going over, 18 going under, with two pushes.
The Flyers have to win every remaining game to have a chance at making the playoffs and even that probably won’t be enough. Philadelphia closes with games against New Jersey, Columbus and Carolina.
The Rangers had Saturday off after hosting the Penguins on Friday night. The Rangers were 19-19 in their first 38 home games with 18 games going over, 16 going under with four pushes.
New York is probably not going to catch Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division and in reality they don’t want to, as that would mean a first round playoff meeting against Washington or Columbus instead of a matchup against Montreal or Ottawa.
The Rangers do need to start playing better at home, as they don’t want to head into the playoffs with a losing record at MSG. Before Friday’s game against the Penguins, New York had lost seven straight at MSG.
Special Teams
The Flyers are just 15th in the league on the power play at 19.3%. They are scoring 2.5 goals per game, which is 22nd in the league. They are 22nd in penalty killing at 79.3%. They are giving up 2.9 goals per game, which is 22nd in the league.
The Rangers are 14th in the league on the power play and they are scoring 3.1 goals per game, which is 4th in the league. New York continues to struggle on the penalty kill, as they are just 23rd in the league at 79.1%. The Rangers are 12th in the league in goals against at 2.6 per game.
Goalie Report
The Flyers have been going with Steve Mason for the most part lately and he has been pretty good. He is 24-28 on the season with a 2.70 goals against average. Michal Neuvirth is the backup and he is 10-12 with a 2.83 goals against average.
The Rangers will be going with Henrik Lundqvist in the playoffs but overall the numbers for him are not that great, as he is 30-21 with a 2.74 goals against average. Antti Raanta has been better, as he is 16-10 with a 2.26 goals against average.
Free NHL Picks
The Flyers ended a five-game losing streak in this series by winning 2-0 in New York in late January. Three of the last four in the series have gone under the total. Even with the win earlier this season at MSG, the Flyers are 3-7 in their last ten in New York with the last three going under.
This is a really tough spot for the Flyers playing their third game in four days and with no rest. The Rangers have been rotten at home of late, but this is a good game for them to turn things around at MSG. I will lay the price and take the Rangers in this contest.
NHL Odds: Rangers 4, Flyers 1
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