The Philadelphia Flyers are taking the path of most resistance in their effort to secure a playoff spot with a .547 points percentage. Tied with the Washington Capitals for third in the division, and only two points ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the bottom wild card spot, the Flyers desperately need two points tonight. “Against whom?” you might ask. None other than America’s most annoying team–the New York Islanders. Here are the numbers:
Odds
Puck Lines
- Philadelphia -1.5 (+210)
- New York +1.5 (-258)
Over/Under
- Over 6 (-105)
- Under 6 (-115)
Money Line
- Philadelphia (-118)
- New York (-102)
Miscellaneous
- Goal in First 10 Min. Under .5 (+105)
- Owen Tippett Under .5 Points (+100)
- First Period Puck Line – Philadelphia -.5 (+175)
- New York Total Goals Over 2.5 (-150)
- 60 Minute Line – Draw (+320)
Predictions
“They’re running on fumes.” Not great news from a head coach whose top priority is unyielding effort. Indeed, when John Tortorella starts to concede practice time and sympathize with his players’ fatigue, you know you have a problem.
Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks was a complete tire fire. The Blackhawks, who had a goal differential of -99 prior to facing the Flyers, were able to do basically anything they wanted on the ice. The obvious problem for the Flyers: lack of defense and goaltending.
Travis Sanheim and Cam York might have been the obvious culprits, not measuring up to their role as the top pair, but it’s not for a lack of skill or effort. Sanheim and York average 23:49 and 22:28 minutes of ice time per game, respectively. As we predicted early in the season, this level of play is simply unsustainable irrespective of how talented and productive the two defensemen have proved to be.
So where do we go from here? The seven remaining games on the Flyers’ schedule are important, but manageable. The toughest contests, including tonight, will come against the Islanders, the Devils, and the Capitals. The Flyers will also play the Rangers one more time, but we will write that one off and put it past us before we even get there. With fourteen points on the table, the Flyers likely need to pick up at least eight, with four of those coming against the two closest teams in the standings–the Islanders and the Capitals.
Tonight’s game is, therefore, extremely important. Do the Flyers have what it takes to grind out a win? Here are our picks:
Picks
60 Minute Line – Draw (+320)
- What is your pick when you know the game will go to overtime, but the Puck Line is totally worthless? We are going with the 60 Minute Line. This game will go in one of two ways. On one hand, the Flyers could suffer the same humiliating result that they suffered against the Blackhawks. On the other hand, the Flyers could find a way to grab a close win. However, when we say “close” we mean very, very close. In typical Flyers fashion, this feels like one of those games that the Flyers will indeed win, but only after giving the Islanders a valuable point, effectively offsetting the gain.
Goal in First 10 Min. Under .5 (+105)
- We are picking this for two reasons. First, it hit last week against the Rangers. Second, we fully anticipate this game to be stressful, and we don’t want to stress one of our bets any longer than ten minutes into the First Period.
BSH Pick Record
40-32-1
