Philadelphia Flyers vs. Toronto Maple Leafs Prediction, NHL Odds
The Maple Leafs are coming off an impressive 4-1 victory over visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday to put the brakes on a two-game slide. The Flyers opening a five-game road trip in Toronto after skating to a 5-3 win over Columbus on Tuesday that marked their second victory in three outings.
The Maple Leafs have surged to heavy -337 favourites on the Thursday NHL odds, backed by 91% of sports bettors, while the Flyers have tumbled to lengthy +277 underdogs since opening at +245. The total is unchanged since opening at 6, with the OVER attracting 79% of the betting action.
Flyers vs. Maple Leafs NHL Betting Odds
Thursday afternoon’s matchup at Scotiabank Arena marks the second of three scheduled meetings between these long-time Eastern Conference rivals. The Maple Leafs skated to a decisive 5-2 victory when the Flyers visited Hogtown on November 2, and have now outscored Philadelphia by a wide 19-7 margin while tallying four straight head-to-head wins. With the Flyers attack faltering, the OVER has gone just 3-2-1 over the past six clashes between these teams, and is just 2-2-2 in six matchups at Scotiabank Arena.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers arrive in Toronto with wins in just four of their past 21 outings, but have provided a glimmer of hope of a turnaround while winning two of their past three. Travis Konecny has remained as one of the few bright lights on this club. The top line winger has bounced back from an injury that sidelined him for six goals in late November, scoring seven goals and two assists in 10 games since his return including a two-goal performance in Tuesday’s win over the Blue Jackets. Konecny’s steady production has become crucial as this team continues to battle a wave of injuries that have sidelined Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier, and Ryan Ellis. The latest player to head to the clinic is goaltender Felix Sandstrom, who remains in Philadelphia due to an illness. That means another start for Carter Hart, who has limited opponents to two or fewer goals in two of three road starts, but who was lit up for six goals on 28 shots in his last appearance in Toronto last April.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs return to action on the heels of master class performance against the division rival Lightning. In addition to outgunning Tampa Bay in shots by a massive 40-19, the Maple Leafs continued to show the impressive defensive responsibility that has been so crucial to this season’s success by blocking 14 Lightning shots to seal the win. While Auston Matthews continued his current surge with his eighth goal in 10 games, the Leafs also enjoyed contributions from across the lineup, with Michael Bunting and Pierre Engvall bulging the twine. The distributed scoring is welcome after this team mustered just three total goals while suffering consecutive regulation losses for the first time this season during visits to New York and Washington. That bodes well for the Leafs, who have averaged five goals per game over their past five home dates with the Flyers, and avoided losing to teams with losing records during their current 16-3-4 run.
