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Jeremy Perry
Flyers vs. Penguins: Game 2 Prediction, NHL Playoffs Odds
The Philadelphia Flyers were absolutely run out of the building in Game 1 of their opening round playoff series with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night. They will be in tough to turn things around in time to avoid falling in to a 0-2 hole in Game 2 on Friday night. The Penguins lived up to their billing as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions when they beat Philadelphia 7-0 in the series opener. Sidney Crosby led the way with a hat trick while Matt Murray made 24 saves for his third straight shutout in the playoffs. What can the Flyers do to turn things around in this NHL matchup?
Flyers vs Penguins Betting Analysis
It wasn’t a surprise when the Flyers lost Game 1. After all, the Penguins had swept all four games in the regular season series. However, both of Philadelphia’s road losses to Pittsburgh during the regular season came in overtime by a single goal, so the lopsided score definitely changed the complexion of the series.
The Pens are now 20-7 when at home with a total of six or more and that’s the total once again. The Pens shut out opponents four times this season and won the following game every time.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers had no answers for Pittsburgh at either end of the ice in the series opener. Philadelphia fired 24 shots on goal but none found their way past Murray. The Flyers top line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Michael Raffl went a combined minus-11 in Game 1. Netminder Brian Elliott was pulled after allowing five goals on just 19 shots while Petr Mrazek didn’t fare much better with two goals allowed on 14 shots. It will be interesting to see how Philadelphia handles its goaltending situation moving forward. These teams have now squared off five times this season and the Penguins have scored at least five goals in every meeting.
Unless they get a better effort from their defense or goaltenders, this will be a quick series.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Crosby continued his dominance of the Flyers with a hat trick on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, Jake Guentzel had a goal and four points in the Game 1 win. Pittsburgh received goals from five different players with Crosby, Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin and Evgeni Malkin all finding the back of the net. Their scoring depth up front will make the Penguins very difficult to slow down in this series. Even if the Flyers can somehow find a way to slow down Crosby, which they probably can’t, the Pens have shown they’re going to get production from the whole lineup.
Meanwhile, Murray continued his playoff brilliance with another strong performance in Game 1. Murray has a 3.00 goals against average versus Philadelphia in his career but regular season totals don’t matter much in the postseason. Murray gives the Penguins a big edge. He’s competent and often good. The Flyers simply don’t have that type of caliber in net.
