At one point earlier in the year, this team was a wagon. Now, it’s a roller coaster. How are the vibes right now? That question is difficult to answer. At the end of the day, we all need to resign ourselves to the fact that the end of this season will be more stressful than we anticipated. No doubt, the Flyers will make a playoff push, but when every game becomes a little more important than the last, our fingernails get shorter and shorter. Thus, with that in mind, it is time to face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here are the numbers:
Odds
Puck Lines
- Tampa Bay -1.5 (+200)
- Philadelphia +1.5 (-245)
Over/Under
- Over 6 (-120)
- Under 6 (+100)
Money Line
- Tampa Bay (-115)
- Philadelphia (-105)
Miscellaneous
- 60 Min. Line – Draw (+320)
- Tyson Foerster AGS (+250)
- Philadelphia Total Goals Over 2.5 (-160)
- No Regulation Goal (+3500)
Predictions
Everything is okay. Everything is going to be okay. It is all okay. Nobody panic. It’s fine. We are fine.
The big news this week was the loss of new defensive acquisition, Jamie Drysdale. The Flyers have since announced the Drysdale is out week-to-week, nursing a left shoulder that has a history of damage. Drysdale’s injury is concerning for several reasons. Though Drysdale has only recently joined the roster, he has made quite a name for himself, and he has shown that he could be an influential piece of the defensive core. The Flyers have also been plagued with injuries and ailments in recent years, losing several players that could have played key roles in the team’s growth. No one needs to be reminded of the Flyers, second overall pick in 2017, Nolan Patrick, or the top-notch veteran defenseman, Ryan Ellis.
Of course, it is too early to speculate that Drysdale will be a flop, and we hope that all of the aforementioned players find good health for their own sakes. But Drysdale’s injury comes at a pretty bad point in the season.
The Flyers could certainly use some defensive stability tonight, following Sunday’s 13-goal matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ordinarily, six goals would comfortably win a hockey game, but not when your blue line plays like Swiss cheese. The Tampa Bay Lightning are more than capable of putting up big numbers, having scored six goals of their own last time they faced off against the Flyers.
With that said, this game is not out of reach. The Flyers and the Lightning have almost identical records at 30-22-7 and 32-23-5, respectively. Draftkings Sportsbook expects this to be a tight one with the Moneyline hovering around +100 on both sides. What does BSH think? Here are our picks:
Picks
Philadelphia Total Goals Over 2.5 (-160)
- We really wanted to take the Philadelphia Puck Line tonight, agreeing with DraftKings that this will likely be a close contest. However, with the odds currently sitting at -245, there is simply no reason to put money there. Instead, we like the slightly better -160 odds for Philadelphia to exceed 2.5 goals. No, we don’t expect a repeat of Sunday, but if the Flyers want to keep this close, they will need to put a 3 on the scoreboard.
Tyson Foerster AGS (+250)
- It is very, very rare that we pursue a goalscorer bet. Hockey can be a weird game, and players can be extremely unpredictable. However, Tyson Foerster has a goal in each of his two games back from injury, and he tallied three points against the Penguins. It would certainly appear that Foerster took advantage of his time away, getting some much needed rest. Tonight, we hope that he stays hot.
BSH Pick Record
30-28-1
