The BB&T Center will be hosting an Eastern Conference matchup as the Florida Panthers take on the visiting Philadelphia Flyers. It’s the third and final time that these two clubs will go at it in the regular season. NBC Sports Philadelphia will broadcast the action, which gets going at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 4.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Florida Panthers Odds
Philadelphia is 34-31 straight up (SU) and has earned moneyline bettors 0.9 units this season. Through 65 regular season matches, 33 of its games have gone over the total, while 29 have gone under and just two have pushed. The Flyers are 18-15 SU on the road in 2017-18.
Philadelphia has converted on 20.8 percent of its power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. Its penalty kill is ranked 29th overall, and the team’s successfully killed off only 75.1 percent of its penalties.
The Flyers, as a collective unit, have been called for penalties just 3.5 times per game in the 2017-18 season, and 2.3 per game over its past ten games. The team has been forced to kill penalties just 5.8 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Sporting a .908 save percentage and 26.3 saves per game, Brian Elliott (22-19-7) has been the top option in goal for Philadelphia this year. If it chooses to give him a rest, however, the team might turn to Petr Mrazek (11-16-5), who has a .909 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average this year.
The visiting Flyers have relied on Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek this season. Giroux (77 points) has tallied 23 goals and 54 assists, and has recorded multiple points in 22 different games. Voracek has 14 goals and 56 assists to his credit (and has notched at least one point in 40 games).
On the other side of the ice, Florida is 31-31 straight up (SU) and has earned 0.5 units for moneyline bettors this season. 32 of its outings have gone over the total, while 30 have gone under and none have pushed. The team is 18-12 SU at home this season.
The Panthers have converted on just 19.1 percent of their power play chances this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 22nd overall, and it’s successfully killed off 79.1 percent of all penalties.
Florida players have been penalized 4.4 times per game in total this season, 4.0 per game over their past five contests total, and 4.0 per game over their last five home outings. The team’s had to defend opponent power plays a whopping 14.2 minutes per game over their last five outings.
James Reimer (27.8 saves per game) has been the top netminder in goal for the Panthers. Reimer has 16 wins, 20 losses, and five overtime losses and has registered a pedestrian 3.16 goals against average and a fairly-weak .907 save percentage this year.
Aleksander Barkov (24 goals, 38 assists) will lead the offensive attack for the Panthers.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Florida Panthers Free Picks
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Panthers, O/U – Under
Notes
Betting Notes
Over Florida’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 3-1 in those games).
Penalties and power plays may play a key role in the outcome of this matchup. The Flyers are 17-14 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 26-15 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes. The Panthers are 11-15 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than the opposition and 14-18 in games where total penalty minutes are in the single digits.
Three of Philadelphia’s last ten games have been decided by a shootout. The team is 1-2 in those games and 2-6 overall in shootouts this season.
Florida may hold an advantage if it’s a tight one late. The team’s 16-14 in games decided by one goal, while Philadelphia is 14-17 in such games.
The total has gone under in four of Florida’s last five games.
Florida is scoring 3.0 goals per game in its past five games (the team’s a perfect 0-0 SU during that span).
Florida is ranked 29th this season with 12.2 giveaways per game. That figure has trended upward recently, as the team’s averaged 14.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 20.2 giveaways over its last five.
Philadelphia is ranked 14th this season with 9.3 giveaways per game. That figure’s trended higher recently, as the team’s averaged 10.6 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.0 giveaways over its last five.
