In their fourth and last head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice at PPG Paints Arena. The match gets underway at 7:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 17, and you can witness this divisional matchup live on NBC Sports Network.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh (-165) is currently the big favorite over Philadelphia (+145), and oddsmakers have put the Over/Under (O/U) at 7 goals (-145 money on the over, +125 on the under).
The Penguins are 39-33 straight-up (SU) and have not been kind to moneyline bettors (to the tune of -9.2 units) thus far. That early-season winning percentage isn’t too far off from to what the team produced during the 2017-18 season (47-35). Through 72 regular season contests, 33 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while an additional 33 have gone under and just five have pushed. Thus far, the team’s 21-15 SU at home.
Pittsburgh has connected on 25.7 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for fifth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 21st overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.1 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Pittsburgh has been called for penalties just 3.4 times per game overall this season, 3.4 per game over its past five matchups total, and 3.6 per game over its last five home outings. The team has been forced to defend opposition power plays for just 7.1 minutes per game over its last 10 outings, in total.
Averaging 29.0 saves per game with a .915 save percentage, Matt Murray (24-16-3) has been the primary option in goal for the Penguins this season. Murray did just play last night, however, so head coach Mike Sullivan might opt to give him a rest and roll with Casey DeSmith instead (15-21-21 record, .916 save percentage, 2.75 goals against average).
The Pens will continue looking for leadership via Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel. Crosby (92 points) has produced 33 goals and 59 assists and has recorded two or more points 30 times this year. Kessel has 24 goals and 48 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 45 games.
On the visiting bench, Philadelphia is 34-37 straight up (SU) and has lost 4.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. 39 of its outings have gone over the total, while 31 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. Philadelphia’s 16-19 SU as the away team this season.
Philadelphia has converted on just 16.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a mark that places it in the bottom-10 overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.2 percent of all opponent power plays.
Philadelphia’s players have been penalized 3.8 times per game in total this season, 3.6 per game over their last five match ups total, and 3.6 per game over their last five road outings. The team has had to kill penalties just 7.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Cam Talbot (3.32 goals against average and .894 save percentage) has been the main option in goal for Philadelphia. Talbot is averaging 25.4 saves per game and has 11 wins, 22 losses, and three overtime losses to his credit.
For the visiting Flyers, the offense will be facilitated through Claude Giroux, who’s got 56 assists and 20 goals this season.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions
Prediction: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Under
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in four of Pittsburgh’s last five games.
- Philadelphia has managed 27.0 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Pittsburgh is averaging 35.2 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Penalties and power plays may prove to be key in the outcome of this matchup. The Flyers are 16-13 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 23-20 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Penguins are 14-12 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 30-20 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Philadelphia is 2-1 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 1-2 in shootouts.
- Pittsburgh skaters have averaged 6.8 takeaways per game over its last five home games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.9 takeaways per game (ranked 13th in the NHL).
- Philadelphia is ranked 29th with 5.9 takeaways per game. That figure has trended higher recently, as the team has managed 7.2 takeaways over its last 10 games and 7.8 takeaways over its last five.
