Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Philadelphia Flyers Game 4 Prediction, NHL Playoff Odds
The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to keep their season alive on Saturday when they face the Philadelphia Flyers in a must-win Game 4.
Frankly, Pittsburgh’s struggles against the Flyers in the first round of the playoffs has been shocking. The Pens hit a new low with a 5-2 loss in Philly on Wednesday and now have to dig themselves out of an 0-3 hole.
Can Pittsburgh extend their season by at least one more game, or will the Flyers lock this down and book their ticket to the second round?
Philadelphia is a slim -120 favourite to win on the NHL odds, with the total set at 5.5.
Penguins vs. Flyers NHL Betting Odds
History is heavily against the Pens in this spot. Only four teams in NHL history have ever rallied to win a best-of-seven series when trailing 3-0 and no one has done it since the L.A. Kings in 2014.
Of course, the Kings’ 0-3 deficit was also in the first round in 2014 and they went on to win the Stanley Cup, so there’s always a chance…just don’t hold your breath.
Heading into this series, it was viewed as essentially a pick’em, with the teams playing for the right to lose in the second round. That’s because the winner of this series will almost certainly be matched up against the Carolina Hurricanes, who lead their own first-round series 3-0 against the Ottawa Senators.
How the mighty have fallen. The veteran Penguins were priced as -160 series favourites on the NHL futures board heading into Game 1 and they now sit as heavy +1000 underdogs. Conversely, the Flyers enter Game 4 as -2000 series favourites.
Oddsmakers still believe Pittsburgh has a little life left in them as the favoured exact series result is not a sweep, but Philadelphia winning in five games at +310. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pens win this game then another in Pittsburgh, so I like Philly winning in six games at +500.
If you’re looking for player props, a sneaky pick with a big payout is Sidney Crosby to lead the series in goals at +1200. Crosby hasn’t found the back of the net yet, but he has a series-high 10 shots on net and no one is more clutch than Sid the Kid.
Pittsburgh Penguins
After going 0-for-5 on the power play in Game 2, Pittsburgh was a little better in Game 3. Both their goals were scored on the man advantage, with Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson each finding the back of the net. However, the Penguins’ penalty kill allowed goals on two of three opportunities against a Flyers power play that ranked dead last (15.7 per cent) in the NHL during the regular season.
There’s a little bit of concern right now about the health of Crosby. Pittsburgh’s captain isn’t officially dealing with anything according to the injury report, but some analysts have suggested he could still be struggling with the lower-body injury that ended his Olympics early. Regardless of injury or not, the Penguins need more than the one assist in three games Crosby has produced.
Philadelphia Flyers
Four Flyers players scored their first career playoff goals in Game 3, including Trevor Zegras, Rasmus Ristolainen, Nick Seeler and Noah Cates. Owen Tippett then sealed the game with an empty-netter. The moment hasn’t proven to be too big for this young Philadelphia team that consists of 10 players making their playoff debuts in this series.
One concern is the status of goaltender Dan Vladar, who turned away 28 of 30 shots faced on Wednesday and has played great in this series. Vladar is considered a game-time decision after appearing to injury his right arm in Game 3, although he stayed in the game. If Vladar can’t go, Samuel Ersson likely gets the start. Ersson ended the regular season strong, going 6-1-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.
PIT
PHI