Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Prediction, NHL Odds
It’s tough to pick the best rivalry in the NHL, but the Pennsylvania rivalry between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia has to be near the top of the list. After splitting the first two games, Saturday will see the last leg of a three-game set between the Penguins and Flyers from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. The Flyers are coming into this game fresh off a 4-3 come-from-behind win over the Pens on Thursday.
Pittsburgh opened as the slight favourites to win on the NHL odds.
Flyers vs. Penguins Betting Analysis
The Flyers have been putting points on the board and have hit the Over in four of their last six games. That’s been a trend this season, as Philly is 13-7 O/U for the year. The Flyers are 11-9 against spread overall, but have been a little better at covering on the road. They’ve covered in six of 10 road games, compared to five of 10 home games.
Pittsburgh has struggled on the road this season, but they seem completely comfortable in their own barn. The Pens have won eight of their 10 home games and have hit the Over six of those games. Pittsburgh is an abysmal 7-15 ATS overall, covering four times at home.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers did what most other teams in the Eastern Division have failed to do this year and handed Pittsburgh its second loss of the season at home. The win wasn’t without some adversity however, as Philly trailed 3-0 less than four minutes into the game. It was a stunning comeback that saw Sean Couturier and Scott Laughton pick up a goal apiece, while captain Claude Giroux found the back of the net twice, including the game-winner with just over two minutes to play.
After a shaky start to the game, Brian Elliott finished with 26 saves on 29 shots. The veteran goalie has been having a resurgent year. Elliott is 6-1-0 with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. Thursday’s win was the first time Philadelphia has come back to win, from a three-goal deficit since 2016.
Pittsburgh Penguins
For the first 71 seconds of Thursday’s game, Pittsburgh looked like the best team in the NHL. Unfortunately for Pens fans, the 3-0 lead they built was slowly evaporated until they finished with an embarrassing 4-3 loss in regulation. Kris Letang, Mark Friedman and Jared McCann buried the goals for Pittsburgh. Tristan Jarry was the busier goalie and stopped 31 of 35 shots. Jarry has taken a bit of a step back in his development this year, recording an 8-7-1 record with a 3.13 GAA and .899 SV.
Luckily for Pittsburgh, Sidney Crosby was able to return on Thursday, after missing Tuesday’s game due to COVID-19 protocols. Crosby played a healthy 21:08 in his return and recorded an assist on the Friedman goal. Friedman was actually a draft choice of the Flyers and spent more than six seasons in Philadelphia before being picked up off waivers by the Penguins last week.
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