Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers Prediction, NHL Odds
With their first-round opponents locked in, the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers just have to check game No. 82 off their schedule on Tuesday night.
The Flyers clinched their playoff spot on Monday with a shootout win over Carolina, locking in their first-round matchup with the Penguins, with no chance at moving up.
The Canadiens are also locked in to play Tampa Bay in the first round, but a win over Philly would give them a chance to move up and claim home ice.
The NHL odds have the Canadiens as the -160 road favourites, with the OVER/UNDER set at an even 6.0 goals. The puck drops at 7 p.m. EST from Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Canadiens vs. Flyers NHL Betting Odds
Philly beat the Canadiens 5-4 in a shootout earlier in the season and most recently took them down 4-1 back in December, leading the season series 2-0. Bobby Brink has scored three goals in the series so far, while goaltender Dan Vladar has collected both wins.
Four of the past six meetings between these teams have hit the OVER, with each team collecting three wins over that stretch.
With an 8-2 record in their last 10, the Canadiens are currently the hottest team in the league headed into the postseason. In that 10-game set, they have hit the OVER just three times, thanks to the fact that they have finally found some stability in goal. They have allowed just 21 goals over that stretch, an average of 2.1 goals per game.
The Flyers have been in a dog fight over the past month, gunning for that final playoff spot, winning seven of their past 10 to get in. They have been getting solid play defensively in those wins, holding opponents to a single goal in five of those seven. They have played the OVER/UNDER 4-4-2 in their last 10.
Montreal Canadiens
After a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets in their final home game of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens bounced back on Sunday, taking down the New York Islanders 4-1 and eliminating them from playoff contention.
This Habs team has left a trail of broken records on their way to the postseason and continued that on Sunday, as Nick Suzuki got his 100th point of the season, becoming the first Canadien to do it in 40 years. Lane Hutson picked up two assists, matching Larry Robinson’s record for most in a season by a Canadiens defenceman. It looked like he had surpassed it on the fourth goal on Sunday, but after review, it was removed. Look for him to make history again on Tuesday.
There are three other Habs chasing milestones in game 82, including Ivan Demidov, Cole Caufield and again Suzuki. Demidov has 19 goals after scoring on Sunday. Caufield’s 51 goals are just one behind the league lead, and Suzuki has 29 goals, eyeing up a third straight 30-goal campaign.
Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia is riding high after snapping a five-year playoff drought with Monday’s 3-2 shootout win. They needed two points to secure their spot, and Tyson Forester played the hero in the fourth round of the shootout, sending the home fans into a frenzy.
Carolina took a 2-0 lead into the second period, but the Flyers battled back, scoring twice in less than three minutes to get the game back to even. Matvei Michkov (19th) and Trevor Zegras (26th) were the goal scorers, and Dan Vladar was solid in goal, stopping 24 of 26 and four shootout attempts. Vladar has set a career high this season in starts (52) and wins (29), and will be relied upon in the playoffs to win the Flyers a round for the first time since 2020.
The Flyers have run out of time to climb into second in the Metropolitan Division, making this game a bit more meaningless for them than their opponent. They have confirmed to start on the road for the first round, taking on the Pittsburgh Penguins, setting an always-heated battle of Pennsylvania. The Pens and Flyers have not faced each other in the playoffs since 2018.
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PHI