In their third head-to-head meeting of the regular season, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Philadelphia Flyers clash at the Wells Fargo Center in a divisional showdown. The game gets underway at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 22 and it’ll be shown live on NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Philadelphia heads into the contest as the favorite with a -120 moneyline. The line for Columbus sits at +100 and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals (-115 for the over, -105 for the under).
The Flyers are 31-29 straight up (SU) and have lost 0.6 units for moneyline bettors thus far. That winning percentage, ranked 3rd in the Metropolitan Division in this young season, is fairly close to the 39-43 record the team posted during the 2016-17 season campaign. Through 60 regular season outings, 32 of its games have gone over the total, while 26 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team is 15-15 SU at home this season.
Philadelphia has converted on 21.6 percent of its power play opportunities this season, a figure that’s good enough for eighth-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill is rated 28th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 75.1 percent of all penalties.
Philadelphia, as a collective unit, has been penalized just 3.6 times per game overall this season, and 2.0 per game over its last five games. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays for just 8.4 minutes per game over its last 10 matchups, overall.
With a .908 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Brian Elliott (22 wins, 19 losses, and seven OT losses) has been the best option in goal for the Flyers this year. If head coach Dave Hakstol decides to give him the night off, however, the team may turn to Michal Neuvirth (9-12-12 record, .915 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average).
The Flyers will continue looking for offensive production from Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Giroux (70 points) has tallied 20 goals and 50 assists and has recorded two or more points 20 times this year. Voracek has 13 goals and 54 assists to his name and has recorded at least one point in 38 contests.
On the other side of the rink, Columbus is 30-30 straight up (SU) and has lost 6.9 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 60 regular season matches, 33 of its games have gone under the total, while 26 have gone over and just one has pushed. As the visiting team, Columbus is 13-17 SU so far.
Columbus has converted on just 14.1 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a mark that places it in the bottom- overall among NHL teams. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.0 percent of all penalties.
Columbus’ players have been penalized only 3.0 times per game in total this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five contests. The team has had to stave off opponent power plays just 5.5 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sergei Bobrovsky (2.46 goals against average and .919 save percentage) has been the primary option in goal for Columbus. Bobrovsky is averaging 28.1 saves per game and owns a 25-24-5 record.
Artemi Panarin (16 goals, 32 assists) has been one of the primary offensive facilitators for the visiting Blue Jackets.Columbus Blue Jackets at Philadelphia Flyers Betting Predictions
Pick: SU Winner – Blue Jackets, O/U – Over
Betting Notes
- The total has gone under in three of Philadelphia’s last five outings.
- Columbus has attempted 34.7 shots per game overall this season (the second-most in the NHL), and 40.4 in its last 10 outings.
- Power plays and penalty kills may prove to be extremely important in tonight’s game. The Blue Jackets are 15-14 in games where they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 26-24 when they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Flyers are 15-12 when the team serves fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 23-13 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
- Philadelphia is 1-5 in games decided by a shootout this season while Columbus is 6-4 in shootouts.
- Philadelphia has averaged 5.9 takeaways per game (ranked 26th in the NHL).
- Columbus skaters have forced 5.2 takeaways per game over its last five road games, a drop-off from its season average of 7.4 takeaways per game (ranked 14th in the league).
- Columbus might hold the upper hand if it’s a tight one late. The team’s an impressive 17-10 in games decided by one goal, while Philadelphia is 12-16 in such games.
