The New York Rangers (4-7-3) will finally hook up with the Philadelphia Flyers (8-3-2) Thursday for a 7 p.m. ET puck drop at Wells Fargo Center after Sunday’s scheduled game in the Big Apple was postponed due to COVID-19 issues throughout the Flyers roster. Below, we analyze the Rangers-Flyers NHL odds and lines, with picks and predictions.
The Flyers have had four games delayed due to COVID concerns and haven’t played since a 7-4 win over the Washington Capitals Feb. 7. Six players remain on the COVID list, including C Claude Giroux and RW Jakub Voracek.
The Rangers took a 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils Tuesday and have lost four straight games while having two scheduled contests postponed until unspecified dates later in the season.
Rangers at Flyers: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 11:11 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Rangers -105 (bet $105 to win $100) | Flyers -110 (bet $110 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Rangers +1.5 (-275) | Flyers -1.5 (+230)
- Over/Under: 6 (O: +100 | U: -120)
Rangers at Flyers: Projected starting goalies
Igor Shesterkin (3-5-1, .918 SV%, 2.36 GAA) vs. Carter Hart (5-2-2, .897 SV%, 3.49 GAA)
Shesterkin’s numbers to begin his second year in the league are much better than his record, but he has been undone by a .853 save percentage with the Rangers shorthanded. He has allowed more than 2 goals in just one of his last six starts and is in desperate need of some goal support.
Hart has been a disappointment thus far in the season and is 5-2-2 only because of an abundance of goal support. He allowed 4 goals in each of his last two starts and managed to go 1-0-1. He has given up 11 power-play goals on just 40 shots with the Flyers shorthanded.
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Rangers at Flyers: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Rangers 3, Flyers 2
Money line (ML)
Give the advantage to Shesterkin in the goalie duel and back the RANGERS (-105) as slight underdogs on the road against the shorthanded Flyers.
The Flyers are third in the league in goals scored per game (3.54), but they’re 22nd in goals allowed (3.08). The Rangers also feature the league’s ninth-best penalty kill at an 82.98% success rate despite taking the ninth-most penalty minutes per game.
Philadelphia is last in 5-on-5 Corsi For percentage at 44.55% and while New York is also sub-50%, the Rangers have small edges in both scoring chances for and expected goals for at full strength.
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Against the spread (ATS)
PASS on the spread. The 1.5 line is far too expensive to back the Rangers for just one goal of insurance. Take them to win outright in a game nearly priced as a pick ’em.
Over/Under (O/U)
The UNDER 6 (-120) is a strong play. Shesterkin should be up to the task of slowing down the Flyers offense and the Rangers struggling offense should allow Hart to turn in one of his better performances of late.
The Flyers are 9-4 against the O/U but the Rangers are 4-10. The Philly offense remains shorthanded and the Flyers are likely to be somewhat disjointed due to their erratic schedule of late.
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