The Philadelphia Flyers (29-33-13) begin a 4-game road trip on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Penguins (37-29-10) at PPG Paints Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. Below, we analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the Flyers vs. Penguins odds, and make our expert NHL picks and predictions.
The Flyers enter this cross-state affair on a 2-game skid and all but out of the playoff picture down 14 points with 7 games to go. Philly has been without tendy Carter Hart due to a lower-body injury over the past week and recalled Sunday’s likely starter, Samuel Ersson, on an emergency basis.
Pittsburgh dropped a 4-3 heartbreaker to the Boston Bruins in the final 3 minutes Saturday. The Pens are just 3-7-0 in the last 10 and have fallen a point behind Florida for the final Wild-Card spot. They’ll look to make a statement Sunday as 4 of their last 6 are against non-playoff teams.
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Flyers at Penguins odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:07 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Flyers +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Penguins -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
- Puck line (PL)/Against the spread (ATS): Flyers +1.5 (-120) | Penguins -1.5 (+100)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: +100 | U: -120)
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Flyers at Penguins projected goalies
Samuel Ersson (6-1-0, 3.07 GAA, .898 SV%, 1 SO) vs. Casey DeSmith (14-16-4, 3.20 GAA, .904 SV%)
The 23-year-old Swede’s career opened at 6-0 earlier this season before allowing 7 goals to New Jersey Feb. 25. He was solid between the pipes outside of that and another 5-goal game. He’ll face intense pressure from a desperate Penguins club Sunday.
DeSmith saw a lot of action in March with 5 starts and 3 relief efforts. He went 3-4-0 with a 2.94 GAA and .900 SV%. He beat the Flyers March 11 and stopped 31 of 32 shots along the way. Starting tendy Tristan Jarry has been hurt a lot over the last few years, and DeSmith has been tested during the stretch run.
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Flyers at Penguins picks and predictions
Prediction
Penguins 4, Flyers 2
Moneyline
The Penguins have been great at home with a 21-12-5 mark at PPG, and they’re playing must-win tilts from here on out. The only thing that might move the needle for the Flyers is if Hart is able to return from injury Sunday. The Pens have got to him, though, for 8 goals in 2 games this season.
Pittsburgh gets it done, but steer clear of the -250 ML. Take the PENGUINS -155 on the 3-WAY LINE as they should not need overtime to secure the victory.
Puck line/Against the spread
Pittsburgh has been great at home overall but is a terrible 11-27 on the puck line at PPG. I do see Pittsburgh with a multi-goal win, but I need more than +100 considering they’re so bad on the puck line at home and 3-7 overall in the last 10. Instead, I look for Sidney Crosby to take charge. His assist Saturday was his 1st point in the last 4 games. He has a goal in each game against the Flyers this season. Sprinkle SIDNEY CROSBY ANYTIME GOAL SCORER +120.
Over/Under
Philadelphia is 7-3-0 O/U in the last 10, and Pittsburgh is 5-5-0. The Over is 5-1 over the last 6 the Flyers played on no rest. The Over is also 16-6-2 in the last 24 meetings between the teams in Pittsburgh.
The Under cashed in both games between the teams this season, but that was because Philly could only muster 1 goal in each. It feels like an Under game again Sunday despite the presence of backup tendies.
LEAN UNDER 6.5 (-110).
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