The Wells Fargo Center will be the site for an Eastern Conference matchup as the Florida Panthers take the ice against the Philadelphia Flyers. The game will get started at 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 16 and it will be broadcasted live on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Florida Panthers at Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Florida (+110) is entering this one as the underdog to Philadelphia (-130), and the oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
Producing 0.8 units for moneyline bettors, the Flyers are 2-3 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That early-season winning percentage is a regression from the 42-40 record that the team posted during last year’s regular season campaign. Through five regular season contests, four of its games have gone over the total, while one has gone under and none have pushed. So far this year, the team is 0-2 SU at home.
Philadelphia’s successfully connected on 22.7 percent of its power play chances in 2018-19. That’s a significant improvement from last season, when it was ranked 17th in the league by scoring on 19.9 percent of its extra-man advantages. Its penalty kill has fallen off noticeably year-over-year as the team’s gone from successfully defending 76.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 26th overall last season) to 72.7 percent this year.
As a collective unit, Philly has been penalized 6.0 times per game this season, a number that’s swelled from the 3.6 penalties per game given up last year. After serving an average of 8.6 penalty minutes per game a year ago, the team’s been forced to stave off opponent power plays for a taxing 12.0 minutes per outing this season.
Boasting a .883 save percentage and 28.3 saves per game, Brian Elliott (1-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Flyers this season. If head coach Dave Hakstol chooses to rest him, however, the Flyers might turn to Calvin Pickard (1-0 record, .886 save percentage, 4.03 goals against average).
Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux will both be offensive focal points for the Flyers. Voracek (eight points) has tallied two goals and six assists while Giroux has one goal and five assists to his credit so far in the season’s early stages.
Florida is 0-3 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through three regular season contests, two of its games have gone under the total, while one has gone over and none have pushed.
Florida’s recorded a goal on 0.0 percent of its power play chances this year after successfully converting on 18.9 percent of its extra-man opportunities in 2017-18 (a mark that was just below league average). The team’s gone from killing off 80.3 percent of opponents’ power plays (ranked 15th overall last season) to 70.0 percent this year.
Florida’s skaters have been penalized 3.3 times per game this season. Last season, that number was at 4.1, which was the sixth-highest mark in the league. After serving an average of 11.0 penalty minutes per game a season ago the team’s had to kill penalties for just 6.7 minutes per matchup this year.
The winless James Reimer (.885 save percentage and 3.62 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Florida. Reimer is averaging 23.0 saves per game and owns a 0-3-1 record.
For the visiting Panthers, the offense will be facilitated by Evgenii Dadonov (one goal, two assists) and Vincent Trocheck (one goal, two assists).
Florida Panthers vs. Philadelphia Flyers Free Picks
Prediction: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Over
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Notes
Betting Trends
The total has gone over in four of Philadelphia’s last five games.
The Panthers are 0-2 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 0-3 in games where they’re in the penalty box for fewer than 10 minutes, total.
After posting a 3-3 record in games decided by a shootout last year, Florida is off to a 0-1 start in shootouts this season. Philadelphia was 2-7 in shootouts last year and has yet to participate in one this time around.
Florida has averaged 2.3 goals per game, while allowing 3.3, over its last three games (0-3 SU over that span).
Florida skaters converted 9.1 takeaways per game while allowing 13.1 giveaways per game in 2017-18
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