In their second head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Florida Panthers face off at the BB&T Center for an Eastern Conference matchup. NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast the action, which gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 28.
Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers Odds
Florida comes into the game as the favorite with a moneyline of -120. The line for Philadelphia sits at +100 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -110 money on the over and -110 for the under.
Florida is 15-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.4 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That early-season winning percentage hasn’t moved much from the 35-47 record the team produced during the 2016-17 season campaign. Through 36 regular season contests, 18 of its games have gone over the total, while another 18 have gone under and none have pushed. The team’s 8-9 SU at home this season.
The Panthers have converted on just 16.8 percent of their power play chances this year, a figure that’s ranked 24th overall in the NHL. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.7 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, the Panthers have been called for penalties 4.4 times per game overall this season, 4.2 per game over their last five outings total, and 4.4 per game over their last five home outings. The team has had to kill penalties for 9.4 minutes per game over their last five home outings.
Sporting a .908 save percentage and 28.2 saves per game, James Reimer (nine wins, 14 losses, and four OT losses) has been the best goalkeeper for Florida this season. If the Panthers choose to give him the evening off, however, Florida might roll with Roberto Luongo (6-9-9 record, .928 save percentage, 2.62 goals against average).
Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck will both be offensive focal points for the Panthers. Huberdeau (35 points) has tallied 12 goals and 23 assists and has recorded two or more points nine times this year. Trocheck has 14 goals and 21 assists to his name and has recorded a point in 26 contests.
Philadelphia is 15-21 straight up (SU) and has lost 9.0 units for moneyline bettors thus far. A total of 18 of its contests have gone over the total, while 16 have gone under and just two have pushed. As a road team, the Flyers are 7-10 SU so far.
The Flyers have converted on 19.5 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 30th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.5 percent of all penalties.
Philadelphia’s players have been penalized 3.6 times per game in total this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to defend opponent power plays just 4.6 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Brian Elliott (27.7 saves per game) has been the primary option in the net for Philadelphia. Elliott has 13 wins, 16 losses, and seven overtime losses to his credit, while registering a .916 save percentage and 2.59 goals against average this year.
Jakub Voracek (eight goals, 36 assists) has been one of the most vital facilitators on offense for the visiting Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Trends
Florida is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 0-3 in shootouts.
The total has gone under in three of Florida’s last five games.
Philadelphia has managed 29.2 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Florida is averaging 38.6 shots per game over its last five at home.
Florida has allowed 3.3 goals per game overall this season, but is allowing just 1.3 per match up in its past three games (the team’s a perfect 0-0 SU over that span).
Over Philadelphia’s last ten games, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
