The Philadelphia Flyers (14-10-3) come off a 9-0 shellacking at the hands of the New York Rangers Wednesday and remain in the Big Apple to play the New York Islanders (19-7-4) Thursday in the first of a three-game set. Puck drop will be at 7 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Flyers-Islanders odds and lines, with NHL picks and predictions.
The Flyers beat the Rangers 5-4 in overtime Monday, but they gave up 9 goals in the first 39:39 of action Wednesday for their most embarrassing loss of the season. Philly has lost five of its last seven games.
The Isles had a nine-game win streak snapped with a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals Tuesday. They’ve surged into first place in the East Division while the Flyers have tumbled to fifth.
These teams will play two games in New York before relocating to Philadelphia for the final game of the set. The Flyers lead the season series 2-0 but both victories in late January were in overtime.
Flyers at Islanders: Odds, spread and lines
Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:30 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Flyers +140 (bet $100 to win $140) | Islanders -165 (bet $165 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Flyers +1.5 (-200) | Islanders -1.5 (+165)
- Over/Under: 5.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
Flyers at Islanders: Projected starting goalies
Carter Hart (7-6-3, .880 SV%, 3.75 GAA) vs. Semyon Varlamov (13-5-3, .926 SV%, 2.08 GAA)
Hart relieved backup Brian Elliott, the better of the two Flyers netminders this season, Wednesday but allowed 4 goals on 16 shots in 32:30 of crease time. He won Monday’s game against the Rangers but with 4 goals allowed on a modest 24 shots.
Varlamov had a personal four-start win streak snapped by the Caps Tuesday when he allowed 3 goals on 22 shots. It was the first time in five games he allowed more than a pair of goals. He allowed 3 goals on 17 shots in an overtime loss in his only start this season against the Flyers.
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Flyers at Islanders: Odds, lines, predictions and picks
Prediction
Islanders 4, Flyers 2
Money line (ML)
Wednesday’s implosion was an anomaly, but the Flyers’ troubles extend well beyond the single game. They’ve gone 3-6-0 and have been outscored 42-27 in March. The Islanders are 11-1-1 dating back to Feb. 22 and have outscored opponents 46-26.
The Flyers lead the season series but both of those needed extra time.
There’s plenty of value with the ISLANDERS (-165) for the outright win.
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Against the spread (ATS)
ISLANDERS -1.5 (+165) is the superior play Thursday, as the Flyers can improve by a 7-goal margin from Wednesday’s disaster and still lose by 2.
Philly isn’t as bad as the result of its last game but the back-to-back situation, even with negligible travel, will prevent them from bouncing back immediately. A multi-goal Islanders win Thursday would be likely to get us better value on the Flyers for Saturday’s second game of this series.
Over/Under (O/U)
The Islanders were dealt a blow this week when captain LW Anders Lee (knee) was ruled out for the season, but New York’s improved goal production is the biggest reason for its rush up the standings over the last month.
Back the OVER 5.5 (-110) with New York facing a tired and shaken up goaltender.
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