NHL Predictions: Dec 1 Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers

Sean Couturier and the Philadelphia Flyers host Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins Story

The Penguins come into this game off of a 7-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Although they lost the game handily, the Penguins picked up three out of a possible six points last week. With the loss, Pittsburgh is 4-3-3 in their last 10. This places them second in the Eastern Conference Stanley Cup Playoff Wild Card race, two points behind the Flyers. Although Pittsburgh has teams like the Islanders and the Red Wings right behind them, the Penguins do have the advantage of having games in hand as well as the regulation-overtime tiebreaker over teams behind them. Facing Philadelphia, a team two points ahead of them in the wild card race, this game will be crucial for both momentum and the standings.

Even though the Penguins offence continues to struggle with injuries, their star players continue to be their star players. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 16 goals and 27 points through 24 games. Meanwhile, Evgeni Malkin‘s six goals and 24 points in 24 games places him second on the team. With injuries to key forwards like Rickard Rakell and Justin Brazeau, the Penguins will need their best players to overproduce due to the dearth in offensive depth. 

Goaltending had become a position that was troublesome for the Penguins in recent years, with inconsistent performance plaguing the team. However, Tristan Jarry has seemingly redeemed himself this season with an excellent start in net. With a 7-2-0 record, Jarry sports a .905 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average. A goaltender that was once struggling is now a key for victory for Pittsburgh against a defensive minded Philadelphia team. In order to beat the Flyers, the Penguins will need to tighten up their defence and support Jarry.

The Flyers Story

The Philadelphia Flyers are 14-7-3 on the season, their 31 points placing them in the top wild card spot in the East. They’ve gone 6-2-2 in their last 10 and are on a three-game win streak. Philadelphia is looking like a team poised to jump past their rebuild and instead push for the playoffs. A key piece of the Flyers success this season has been past regulation as the team sports a 5-0 record in the shootout. Meanwhile, the Penguins are 1-5 past regulation time. If this game stays tight, expect the Flyers to have the advantage in overtime and more importantly in the shootout.

The Flyers are led in scoring by centre Trevor Zegras. Zegras has nine goals and 24 points in 24 games, impressive production for a centre that was moved out from the Anaheim Ducks just months ago. Behind him, veteran Travis Konecny has continued to produce. He has five goals and 19 points in 24 games, second on the team in points. Although the Flyers are getting good middle of the lineup of production, they do need some extra offence from offensive minded players such as Matvei Michkov. Mitchkov, expected to be a superstar forward, has struggled relative to expectations this season, scoring just eight goals and 14 points through 24 games. He is someone that the Penguins are sure to put pressure on in this game as well as the aforementioned Zegras and Konecny.

Expected in net is goaltender Dan Vladar, he is 10-4-1 this season with a .912 save percentage and 2.43 goals against average. Vladar has seized the opportunity in Philadelphia this season as a starter. The Penguins will need to find a way to beat Vladar in order to gain momentum and get past the Philadelphia Flyers in this game. This is a good time for our disclaimer to please check social media for the very latest lineup news before locking in your daily fantasy roster.

NHL Prediction:

These storied rivals are going to once again face each other in a crucial game for playoff positioning. Although the Penguins offence has shown sparks of life, the Flyers are riding a wave of momentum. Expect Philly, on a three game win streak, to continue building momentum and get past the Penguins in this contest.

NHL Prediction: Flyers win 3-1.

Prop Bet of the Night

Although the Penguins defence has been lackadaisical to start the year, Tristan Jarry has shown an ability to shut the door regardless. Meanwhile, Dan Vladar and the Philadelphia Flyers have been playing a defensive minded game of hockey. Expect this game to be a low scoring one, and as such a prop bet of goals under-5 with odds of +186 is a good bet.

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