The Philadelphia Flyers will try to shake off an ugly 5-0 loss when they play Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First-Round series against the Montreal Canadiens Sunday. The puck will drop shortly after 8 p.m. ET at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. Below, we look at the Flyers-Canadiens betting odds and lines and make our NHL picks and best bets.
Flyers vs. Canadiens: Projected starting goalies
Carter Hart vs. Carey Price
Hart should be expected back in net after giving up four goals on just 26 shots in the Game 2 loss. He had previously stopped 84 of 87 shots through three postseason games, including the round-robin.
Price picked up his second shutout of the postseason while stopping all 30 shots he faced Friday afternoon, and he finally received an abundance of goal support. He now owns a .954 save percentage and 1.46 goals against average through six playoff games.
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Flyers vs. Canadiens: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11:20 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Flyers 4, Canadiens 2
Moneyline (ML)
The FLYERS (-143) are getting their highest odds of the series after the embarrassing Game 2 loss. Montreal (+120) came out with a spirited effort after head coach Claude Julien was hospitalized due to non-COVID-19-related chest pains. Julien is doing well, but assistant coach Kirk Muller will remain in charge behind the bench for the rest of the series.
Bettors should be willing to write-off Friday’s result. The shot count and penalty tally were both essentially even in Game 2. Expect Hart to return to form and back the top-seeded FLYERS (-143) to win in regulation or overtime.
New to sports betting? A $14.30 bet on the Flyers to win returns a profit of $10.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The FLYERS -1.5 (+195) can be backed for nearly a 2-1 return on investment, even though this is likely to require a late empty-net tally for the two-goal win. The Canadiens +1.5 (-239) just don’t offer enough of a return.
Dating back to the regular season in March, five of Montreal’s last six losses were by two or more goals. The Flyers won all three games of the Eastern Conference round-robin by at least two goals.
Over/Under (O/U)
The OVER 5.5 (+120) is now a very profitable play after two straight Unders to open the series. It’s the highest return for an Over on Sunday’s five-game NHL slate with a $10 bet fetching a profit of $12 if the two teams combine for at least six goals.
Again, it may require an empty-netter and a late sweat, but the value is well worth chasing.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 39-31
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