The Wells Fargo Center will be hosting an Eastern Conference showdown as the Montreal Canadiens travel to the City of Brotherly Love to meet the Philadelphia Flyers. The match gets started at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday, February 8, and it’s being shown live on Reseau Des Sports.
Montreal Canadiens at Philadelphia Flyers Odds
Philadelphia (-150) is currently favored over Montreal (+130), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The odds for betting the total stand at -120 for the under and +100 for the over.
Losing -6.1 units for moneyline bettors, Philadelphia is 25-28 straight up (SU) overall thus far. That early-season winning percentage is right in line with the 39-43 record the team posted during the 2016-17 season campaign. Through 53 regular season matches, 28 of the team’s games have gone over the total, while 23 have gone under and just two have pushed. The team’s 13-14 SU at home this year.
The Flyers have converted on 20.4 percent of their power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 74.4 percent of all penalties.
As a team, the Flyers have been penalized 3.7 times per game overall this season, 4.0 per game over their past five matchups total, and 3.6 per game over their last five at home. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays for 9.8 minutes per contest over their last five home games.
Sporting a .909 save percentage and 26.4 saves per game, Brian Elliott (20-19-7) has been the primary option in goal for the Flyers this season. If Philadelphia chooses to give him the night off, however, the team may go with Michal Neuvirth (5-11-11 record, .911 save percentage, 2.61 goals against average).
Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux will each be focal points for the Flyers. Voracek (61 points) has produced 10 goals and 51 assists and has recorded multiple points 21 times this year. Giroux has 15 goals and 43 assists to his name and has notched a point in 36 contests.
Montreal is 22-31 straight up (SU) and has lost 12.6 units for bettors taking the moneyline thus far. Through 53 regular season contests, 29 of its games have gone under the total, while 22 have gone over and just two have pushed. As the visiting team so far, the Canadiens are 8-16 SU.
The Canadiens have scored on 21.7 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s good enough for seventh-best in the NHL. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 23rd overall and it’s successfully killed off 78.6 percent of all penalties.
Montreal’s players have been called for penalties 3.7 times per game in total this season, and 3.0 per game over their past five games. The team’s had to kill penalties just 7.0 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carey Price (.907 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Montreal. Price is averaging 27.6 saves per game and owns a 15-23-4 record.
Max Pacioretty (16 goals, 17 assists) and Alex Galchenyuk (12 goals, 19 assists) are the top offensive options for Montreal and will lead the offensive counter for the visiting Canadiens.
Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers Free Picks
Free Pick: SU Winner – Flyers, O/U – Over
Betting Trends
- Montreal is 2-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 0-4 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in four of Philadelphia’s last five games.
- Montreal has managed 29.2 shot attempts per game over its last five road games while Philadelphia has been attempting 34.0 shots per game over its last five at home.
- Over Philadelphia’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
- Montreal skaters have given out the league’s third-most hits per game (25.9).