The New York Islanders will take their turn as the visiting team in this matchup versus the Philadelphia Flyers. The Isles beat Philadelphia at home just this past weekend to add to the growing woes of the Flyers. New York is moving in the opposite direction as well, as you’d learn more about below. Will the Islanders go 2-0 this season in their matchup versus Philadelphia? Or will the Flyers give John Tortorella something to smile about? With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Islanders-Flyers prediction for this showdown scheduled at 7:30 PM ET.
Here are the Islanders vs. Flyers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Islanders-Flyers Odds
New York Islanders: -1.5 (+128)
Philadelphia Flyers: +1.5 (-158)
Over: 6.0 (-104)
Under: 6.0 (-118)
Why The Islanders Could Cover The Spread
New York is going to play as the road team for this matchup, but the Islanders certainly have the momentum. Not only are the Isles riding a four-game win streak into this matchup versus Philly, but they also just beat the Flyers at home last Saturday, 5-2. Philadelphia had a one-goal lead four minutes into the second period of that game — or until the Islanders exploded for four unanswered goals, including three in the third frame.
The offensive explosion from the Islanders in that game was a welcome sight for the team which isn’t exactly scoring a lot this season. But they were kept in the game as well by their stout defense, led by goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who allowed just two goals on 28 shots faced. Whether it’s going to be Varlamov or Ilya Sorokin who’s going to start in front of the net for the Islanders in this rematch against the Flyers, New York can feel confident about its last line of defense.
Varlamov is 5-3-0 this season with a .916 save percentage plus a 2.84 goals allowed per game average. Sorokin, on the other hand, is even better, sporting a 10-5 record with a .933 save percentage and 2.19 goals against per outing average. As a team, the Islanders are fifth in 5-on-5 save percentage (.934) and fourth overall in goals allowed per game (2.57). They haven’t allowed more than two goals in each of their last four games, a stretch that includes their 3-0 shutout of Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers at home last week.
It’s the kind of defense that almost looks unfair on paper when juxtaposed with Philadelphia’s anemic offense which is the worst in the NHL with an average of just 2.41 goals per contest. Also take note that the Islanders have all but one of their last nine meetings with the Flyers.
Why The Flyers Could Cover The Spread
John Tortorella can’t be happy with the direction his Flyers are treading. Philadelphia’s loss to the Islanders last Saturday was the Flyers’ 10th in a row. Over that winless streak, the Flyers have scored just 20 total goals against 45 surrendered goals. They have also posted a PDO of just 93.1 in that span. It can’t stay that bad for Philadelphia, which, despite its inability to generate consistent offense, is not significantly lacking in terms of puck possession. In fact, the Flyers have a 51.5 CF% during their current losing skid.
They even outshot New York in the previous meeting, 28-23, and recorded a 58.02 even strength CF%. Speaking of which, the Islanders are not elite when it comes to keeping the puck in their control, as they are a bottom-10 team this season in terms of 5-on-5 CF%. Philadelphia should have another great chance at outshooting the Isles, and it will just have to come down to the Flyers’ finishing. The offense has to really step up for the Flyers if they are to stop their losing skid, which means increased pressure to deliver for the top two lines.
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The Flyers’ top line consisting of Noah Cates, Kevin Hayes, and Owen Tippett have combined for four goals and only three assists in the last five games, while the second line of Kieffer Bellows, Morgan Frost, and Zach Macewen has coughed up just a goal in that same span. It’s gotten worse for the Flyers when they were forced to put Travis Konecny on the injured reserve due to an upper-body injury. Goalie Carter Hart could get his turn against the Islanders.
Hart was a disaster in his last start, as he was pulled after allowing four goals in a 4-1 home loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last Friday, although he remains Philly’s best bet to patrol the crease. Hart owns a 6-5 record with a .915 save percentage and 2.85 goals allowed per game average. Among goalies with at least 10 starts this season, Hart has the third-best goals saved above expected (12.7) and third as well in GAA better than expected (0.86).
Final Islanders-Flyers Prediction & Pick
Both goalies of the Islanders have been solid this season, and the same can be said about Hart of the Flyers. With Hart expected to start for the Flyers and neither the Isles nor the Flyers scoring at a high rate this season, the Under should be a very appealing option to take for this contest.
Final Islanders-Flyers Prediction & Pick: Under 6.0 (-118)
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