Getting their final head-to-head matchup of the season out of the way early in the year, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Vancouver Canucks take the ice at Rogers Arena for an East-West showdown. The puck drops at 10 p.m. ET on Thursday, December 7, and fans at home will be able to witness it live on Sportsnet Pacific.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Vancouver Canucks Odds
Vancouver (-120) is currently favored over Philadelphia (+100), and the oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at 6 goals. The line for betting the total stands at -120 under, +100 over.
Vancouver is 14-14 straight up (SU) and has earned 4.5 units for moneyline bettors this year. That early-season winning percentage is a huge turnaround from how the team performed during last years regular season (30-52). Of its 28 games this season, 14 have gone over the total, while an additional 14 have gone under and none have pushed. This season, the team is 5-8 SU at home.
The Canucks have converted on 21.2 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, their penalty kill is ranked 17th overall, and they’ve successfully killed off 80.2 percent of all penalties.
As a collective unit, the Canucks have been penalized 3.8 times per game overall this season, and 2.2 per game over their last five outings home outings. The teams had to kill penalties for just 5.4 minutes per game over their last 10 matchups, in total.
Averaging 26.6 saves per game with a .917 save percentage, Jacob Markstrom (8-12-3) has been the primary goalkeeper for the Nucks this year. If head coach Travis Green chooses to give him a rest, however, Vancouver could turn to Anders Nilsson (6-3-3 record, .922 save percentage, 2.68 goals against average).
Brock Boeser and Bo Horvat will both lead the charge for the Canucks. Boeser (25 points) has tallied 13 goals and 12 assists and has recorded two or more points six times this year. Horvat has 10 goals and 10 assists to his credit and has notched a point in 13 contests.
On the other bench, Philadelphia is 9-18 straight up (SU) and has lost 11.7 units for moneyline bettors this year. Through 27 regular season matches, 14 of its games have gone over the total, while 12 have gone under and just one has pushed. As a road team so far, the Flyers are 5-8 SU.
The Flyers have converted on 18.0 percent of their power play opportunities this season, a mark that’s right around league average. On the other hand, its penalty kill unit is ranked 27th overall and it’s successfully killed off 76.5 percent of all penalties.
Philadelphia’s players have been penalized 4.1 times per game in total this season, 4.0 per game over their last five match ups total, and 4.0 per game over their last five games as the visiting team. The team has been forced to defend opponent power plays 8.6 minutes per game over their last five outings.
Brian Elliott (.908 save percentage and 2.92 goals against average) has been the primary option in goal for Philadelphia. Elliott is averaging 28.1 saves per game and owns a 7-13-6 record.
For the visiting Flyers, the offense will run through Jakub Voracek (seven goals, 26 assists) and Claude Giroux (11 goals, 17 assists).
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Vancouver Canucks Betting Predictions
Predictions: SU Winner – Canucks, O/U – Under
Betting Trends
- Over Vancouver’s last ten outings, six of them have been decided by two or more goals (the team is 4-2 in those games).
- The Flyers are 2-6 when they serve fewer penalty minutes than their opponent and 5-7 in games where they serve fewer than 10 total penalty minutes.
- Vancouver is 0-2 in games decided by a shootout this season while Philadelphia is 0-2 in shootouts.
- The total has gone over in three of Vancouver’s last five outings.
- Vancouver has allowed 2.8 goals per game overall this year, but is allowing just 1.3 per contest over its three-game win streak.
- Vancouver is ranked 11th this season with 8.8 giveaways per game. That figure has regressed, as the teams averaged 10.0 giveaways over its last 10 games and 11.8 giveaways over its last five.
- Philadelphia skaters have averaged 8.2 giveaways over its last five home games, an improvement from its season average of 9.8 giveaways per game (ranked 15th).
