In their third and final head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers face off at the Wells Fargo Center for an Eastern Conference showdown. The opening face-off takes place at 0:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 1, and you are able to witness it live on NBC.
Boston Bruins at Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Boston is 49-28 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 8.8 units this season. 40 of its outings have gone under the total, while 34 have gone over and just two have pushed. The Bruins are 22-16 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Boston has converted on 23.4 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s good enough for fourth-best in the league. Additionally, it has the fifth-strongest penalty kill in the league, and it has successfully killed off 82.8 percent of its penalties.
For the team as a whole, Boston has been whistled for penalties 3.8 times per game this season, and 2.8 per game over its last five road outings. The team’s had to kill penalties just 5.6 minutes per contest over their last five road games.
Boasting a .919 save percentage and 25.5 saves per game, Tuukka Rask (34-17-5) has been the best option in goal for Boston this year. Rask played yesterday, however, so the team could choose to rest him and instead roll with Anton Khudobin (15-14-6 record, .915 save percentage, 2.53 goals against average).
Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak will both lead the offensive attack for the visiting Bruins. Marchand (84 points) has tallied 34 goals and 50 assists, and has recorded two or more points in 27 different games. Pastrnak has 32 goals and 45 assists to his creditand has logged at least one point in 51 games.
On the other side of the ice, Philadelphia is 39-39 straight up (SU) and has lost 3.8 units for moneyline bettors thus far. Through 78 regular season contests, 41 of its games have gone over the total, while 35 have gone under and just two have pushed. It’s 19-19 SU at home this year.
Philadelphia has converted on 20.0 percent of its power play chances this season, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 26th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.9 percent of all penalties.
Philadelphia players have been whistled for penalties 3.4 times per game in total this season, and 2.4 per game over their past five match ups. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 5.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Brian Elliott has denied 26.3 shots per game as the primary netminder in goal for Philadelphia. Elliott has 22 wins, 19 losses, and seven OT losses and has registered a subpar .908 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average this year.
The Flyers will be led on offense by Claude Giroux (27 goals, 66 assists).
Boston Bruins vs. Philadelphia Flyers Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Bruins, O/U – Over
Notes
Betting Notes
The total has gone over in three of Philadelphia’s last five outings.
Boston has managed 29.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Philadelphia is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five home outings.
The Bruins are 24-8 SU in games where they serve more penalty minutes than their opponent while the Flyers are 12-14 SU when they serve more minutes than their opponent.
Boston is 3-3 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 2-7 in shootouts.
Philadelphia has created 5.0 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 5.9 takeaways per game (ranked 27th overall).
Boston is ranked eighth in the league with 8.3 takeaways per game. That figure has trended down recently, however, as the team has managed 6.1 takeaways over its last 10 games and 5.4 takeaways over its last five.
Boston might hold the upper hand if this one comes down to the wire. The team’s an impressive 21-13 in games decided by one goal, while Philadelphia is 17-22 in such games.
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