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Rivalry night on NBCSN on Wednesday has the Pittsburgh Penguins visiting the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins have surged into second place in the Metropolitan Division and now they are right behind the Washington Capitals for first place. On the other side, the Philadelphia Flyers are in must-win mode, as they trail Toronto and the Islanders for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Let’s look at Wednesday’s game and NHL picks.
At 7:30 p.m. ET, tune into NBCSN for live television coverage of this NHL game on Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at the Wells Fargo Center.
We'll have NHL odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NHL Wednesday schedule.
Odds Analysis
This is the final game of a five-game road trip for the Penguins with the previous four in Canada, as they played the Jets, Oilers, Canucks and Flames. Pittsburgh has been playing really well of late, as they won the first three on the Canada swing and they will be favored in this contest on Wednesday night. The Penguins were 16-17 in their first 33 road games with 17 going over the total, 15 going under, with one push.
Injuries have been a concern for Pittsburgh, but they keep winning games. Carl Hagelin is out for at least the next month, while Matt Cullen and Patric Hornqvist have also missed time lately and Kris Letang is on IR.
“It’s tough,” winger Conor Sheary said after the win against Vancouver. “You jumble the lines a little bit, you’re playing with guys you don’t normally play with and it switches every period. I think we tried to keep our shifts as short as possible, just be ready when your name is called.”
The Flyers will be wrapping up a quick two-game homestand, as they played Columbus on Monday. The Flyers were 19-14 in their first 33 home games with 12 going over the total, 14 going under with seven pushes.
Special Teams
The Penguins have the third-best power play in the league at 22.6%. Pittsburgh leads the league in goals per game at 3.5 per contest. Pittsburgh is just 19th in the league in penalty killing at 80.5%. The Penguins are giving up 2.7 goals per contest, which is 15th in the league.
The Flyers are 10th in the league on the power play at 20.5% but they are scoring just 2.5 goals per game, which is 22nd in the league. Philadelphia is just 22nd in the league in penalty killing at 79.8%. They are 24th in the league in goals allowed at 2.9 per contest.
Goalie Report
The Penguins have a clear number one in Matt Murray who is 26-11 with a 2.33 goals against average, while Marc-Andre Fleury is 17-13 with a 3.04 goals against average.
The Flyers get ripped for their poor goaltending but if you look at the numbers, Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth are not that bad. Mason is 19-25, but his goals against average is pretty good at 2.74, while Neuvirth is 10-11 with a 2.91 goals against average.
Free NHL Picks
This has been a really streaky series, as the Flyers had a big run a few years ago but lately it has been all Penguins. Pittsburgh has taken five of the last six meetings including both games this season, as they won 5-4 in Philly and 5-2 in Pittsburgh. Three of the last four in the series have gone over. The teams have split their last ten in Philadelphia with five of the last seven going under the total.
I have no confidence in the Flyers, even playing at home, as they are poorly run from the owner down to the head coach and they simply don’t have enough good players to win consistently in the NHL. I will lay the price and take the Penguins in this contest.
NHL Odds: Penguins 4, Flyers 2
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