A pair of teams that are squarely in playoff contention, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins face off at PPG Paints Arena. The first puck will drop at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, January 31, and fans at home can watch this divisional matchup live on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Odds
Pittsburgh (-170) is currently favored over Philadelphia (+150), and oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at an even 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 for the over and even money (+100) for the under.
The Penguins are 31-19 straight-up (SU) and have earned 7.3 units for moneyline bettors this year. That winning percentage, ranked second in the NHL in this young season, is an improvement over the 44-38 record from the 2018-19 season campaign. 25 of its 50 matches have gone under the total, while 24 have gone over and just one has pushed. The team is 18-8 SU at home this season.
Pittsburgh’s converted on 19.6 percent of its power play chances this year, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill is ranked 12th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 82.1 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, Pittsburgh has been penalized just 3.2 times per game overall this season, and 3.9 per game over its past ten matchups. The team has been forced to kill penalties for just 8.2 minutes per game over its last five outings, overall.
Sporting a .929 save percentage and 27.2 saves per game, Tristan Jarry (16-9-1) has been the primary option in goal for the Penguins this year. If the Pens choose to give him a breather, however, the team may go with Matt Murray (16-11-11 record, .900 save percentage, 2.84 goals against average).
Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust will each be focal points for the Penguins. Malkin (50 points) is up to 15 goals and 35 assists and has recorded two or more points on 15 separate occasions this year. Rust has 21 goals and 22 assists to his credit and has recorded at least one point in 27 games.
On the other side of the rink, Philadelphia is 27-23 straight up (SU) and has netted moneyline bettors 3.8 units this season. A total of 25 of its contests have gone over the total, while 24 have gone under the total and just one has pushed. As a road team so far, Philadelphia is 10-15 SU.
Philadelphia has converted on 19.4 percent of its power play opportunities this year, a figure that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked ninth overall and it’s successfully killed off 82.4 percent of all penalties.
Philadelphia’s skaters have been penalized 3.4 times per game in total this season, 4.0 per game over their last five contests total, and 3.6 per game over their last five on the road. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays just 7.7 minutes per game over their last 10 outings.
Carter Hart (22.1 saves per game) has been the primary option in goal for Philadelphia. Hart owns a 15-17-3 record, and has registered a .905 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average this year.
Sean Couturier (13 goals, 30 assists) has been one of the top offensive facilitators for the visiting Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Betting Predictions
NHL Pick: SU Winner – Penguins, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Philadelphia is 5-5 in games decided by a shootout this season while Pittsburgh is 3-0 in shootouts.
- For both of these clubs, the total has gone under in three of their last five outings.
- Over Pittsburgh’s last ten outings, four of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 1-3 in those games).
- The Pens this season have registered the second-most hits per game in the NHL (28.6).
