The Philadelphia Flyers (32-19-7) visit the Tampa Bay Lightning (38-15-5) Saturday for a 4 p.m. ET puck drop at Amalie Arena. We analyze the Flyers-Lightning sports betting odds and lines, while providing NHL betting tips and picks around this matchup.
Flyers at Lightning: Projected starting goalies
Carter Hart vs. Andrei Vasilevskiy
Hart is 2-0 since returning to the lineup Feb. 10. He stopped 56 of a total of 59 shots in a home-and-home sweep of the Florida Panthers. The 21-year-old is 17-11-3 on the season with a .908 save percentage and 2.54 goals against average.
Vasilevskiy has rifled off seven straight victories, and he hasn’t suffered a regulation loss since Dec. 14. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 31-9-3 on the year with a .921 SV% and 2.41 GAA.
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Flyers at Lightning: Odds, picks and betting tips
Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list.
Odds last updated at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Prediction
Flyers 2, Lightning 1
Moneyline (ML)
Hart got the road win his last time out, but he remains just 3-9-1 with a .857 SV% and 3.85 GAA through 16 road games. As a result, the FLYERS (+155) are just 13-14-3 on the road for the season. They’ll be our play Saturday with Hart back in top form as the Flyers push for a playoff spot.
The Lightning (-189) are on a nine-game winning streak but Steven Stamkos (lower body) and Nikita Kucherov (lower body) remain questionable for the matinee tilt. The odds weigh too heavily on Tampa Bay’s winning streak, and a good Flyers team is worth a shot. The Lightning earned a 1-0 win Jan. 11 in Philadelphia in the only head-to-head meeting of the year thus far.
New to sports betting? A $10 bet on the Flyers to win in regulation, overtime or a shootout returns a profit of $15.50.
Puck Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
The FLYERS (+1.5, -167) should also be backed with 1 goal of insurance in the event of a loss. Two of the Lightning’s last three games went to overtime and were decided by a score of 2-1. The Flyers are 34-24 against the spread overall and 15-15 on the road. The Lightning are 26-32 ATS overall and 13-15 at home.
Over/Under (O/U)
Play the alternate total line and bet UNDER 5.5 (+135) for a better return on your investment. The actual line of 6.5 pays out at just -154 for the Under.
The Lightning, led by Vasilevskiy, have played to the Over just once across their last 10 games. The Flyers are 5-5 against the projected total over their last 10 games.
Esten’s NHL betting record: 233-217
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