The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday night, April 11th, 2018. Even the most casual hockey fans get fired up for the postseason and the 16 wins it takes to get your name etched on one of the Stanley Cups shiny silver rings. It seems pretty fitting that the first series to get underway will match up the #2 and #3 seeds from the Metropolitan Division in the battle of Pennsylvania.
The reigning two-time Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins are a clear favorite over the Philadelphia Flyers at odds of -225. There is certainly no love lost in this rivalry and this is the first postseason meeting since 2012, when the Flyers knocked off the Penguins in six games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were one of five teams to finish with 100 points in the Eastern Conference. The Flyers finished just two points back of Pittsburgh, but had five fewer wins.
The Philadelphia Flyers led the NHL with 14 overtime losses. They were just 2-7 in shootouts, but we won’t have to worry about those in the playoffs. Pittsburgh won all four regular season meetings, but two had to go to overtime.
Betting Odds to Win the 2018 NHL Playoff Series:
Pittsburgh Penguins (-225)
Philadelphia Flyers (+195)
Picks and Predictions
Series Pick: Pittsburgh in 6
We could see some fireworks, but Pittsburgh’s forward depth should eventually overwhelm Philadelphia in this series.. Pittsburgh scored five goals in all four regular season games and Philadelphia had four goals in both overtime losses. The Flyers are going to have to stay out of the box, but over the course of a long series, that seems unlikely. The Penguins are going to get the matchups that they want with home ice in the first two games and they’ll also get the matchups they want defensively to shut down Philadelphia’s top-end talents. Neither goal tending situation is all that comforting, so the Flyers could very well steal this series if Brian Elliott outplays Matt Murray. It’s just hard to bet against Crosby & Co. in the playoffs, but at +195 , it isn’t a bad bet to take a shot on the underdog.
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