The Philadelphia Flyers and the Tampa Bay Lightning battle in their final Eastern Conference round-robin game Saturday at 8 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. We analyze the Flyers-Lightning NHL betting odds and lines, with picks and best bets.
With both teams 2-0 in round-robin play, the winner will earn the No. 1 seed in the East when the quarterfinals begin next week, drawing the 12th-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the next round. Saturday’s loser will get the 2-seed and will face the winner of Toronto Maple Leafs–Columbus Blue Jackets qualifying series, which is headed to a deciding Game 5 Sunday.
Flyers vs. Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Carter Hart vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Hart started the round-robin game last Sunday against the Boston Bruins, stopping 34 of 35 shots in a 4-1 victory. Brian Elliott was given the nod Thursday against the Washington Capitals, and he was rarely tested in the 3-1 victory, making 16 saves. There is no official word from coach Alain Vigneault just yet, but it’s likely the team will go back to Hart in the rotation, as the bench boss keeps both netminders fresh for when the Eastern Conference quarterfinals start next week.
Vasilevskiy has been sharp so far, backstopping the Lightning to a pair of 3-2 victories against the Capitals and the Bruins. He has stopped 56 of 60 shots, going 2-0-0 with a 1.92 goals against average and a .933 save percentage, so there is no keeping another goalie warm for the Lightning. It’s ride or die with the 2019 Vezina Trophy winner.
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Flyers vs. Lightning: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 3 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Lightning 3, Flyers 2
Moneyline (ML)
The LIGHTNING (-134) have won a pair of 3-2 games so far in the bubble, so why not three in a row by the same score? The Flyers (+115) have also won two games, so this is a clash for the top seed in the East. Vasilevskiy and the Lightning look like they’re on a mission to put last season’s disappointing exit in a sweep by the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets in the rear-view mirror. And, hey, the favorite is 7-0 in the previous seven meetings in this series.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Lightning returns a profit of $7.46 if they prevail, while a winning $10 wager on the Flyers fetches a profit of $11.50.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
This game figures to be a tight affair, as the two teams playing the best hockey, perhaps in all of the NHL, lock horns in the bubble. The Lightning (-1.5, +200) are oh, so very tempting at this price, but it’s hard to see the Fly Guys getting dropped by more than two goals the way things have been going. Just the same, there is no reason to go with the Flyers (+1.5, -250) and lay that kind of juice. If you like them, just grab them on the moneyline. AVOID a puck line play.
Over/Under (O/U)
UNDER 5.5 (-106) is a sound play as neither side is allowing much in the way of goals. Plus, the Under has hit in five in a row for Philadelphia, and three straight for Tampa Bay.
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