Flyers vs Devils NHL Spread/Handicapping
Headline: Rivalry Night Features Struggling Eastern Conference Foes – Flyers Visit Devils
Two struggling Eastern Conference teams will look to make up a little ground when they meet in the first leg of a home-and-home series Wednesday Night. The Philadelphia Flyers and the New Jersey Devils are both coming off wins but each has stumbled during the middle part of the NHL season.
Bet On NHL Hockey Today at One of our top online sportsbooks!!!
Philadelphia Flyers (12-14-0-1) at New Jersey Devils (12-9-2-3)
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Where: Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey
Broadcast: TSN2, NBCSN
Flyers vs. Devils Betting Lines from betonline.com
Philadelphia Flyers +1½ -265 +110 Ov 5½ +114
New Jersey Devils -1½ +225 -121 Un 5½ -126
Check out our in-house NHL Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s NHL Picks Today!
Both are on the cusp of an Eastern Conference playoff spot and wins in their next two games is crucial for their standing going forward. New Jersey has won four of five in the series and eight of the last 10 including both meetings this season – advantage Devils?
The Philadelphia Flyers snapped their three game losing streak last time out – a 3-2 home win over the Buffalo Sabres. But still a look at the standings reveals that this team is seriously underachieving – they are last in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference.
Click here now to check out the TOP NHL Cappers at CappersPicks.com!!!
Penalties and poor goaltending have been blamed for Philadelphia’s unflattering record but the uncharacteristically bad play of Daniele Briere among others can also be attributed to the Flyers record.
Don’t blame Philadelphia’s offense this season – they are actually OK in terms of scoring – averaging 2.78 goals per game although there are some big names on the “Not Hot” list for Philadelphia. Matt Read and Wayne Simmonds are pointless in their last three games and Scott Hartnell has not registered a point in his last five. At least the Flyers won’t have to contend with Martin Brodeur!
Defense and goaltending is costing the Flyers night in and night out. They have allowed 82 goals this season to rank near the bottom of the league. Ilya Bryzgalov has been awful as of late with a 1-2-0 record in his last four appearances with a lofty 3.64 GAA and ugly .845 save %.[soliloquy id=”82219″]
The New Jersey Devils’ recent skid has coincided with the injury to Martin Brodeur. The team has lost seven of nine games since Brodeur went down and his backup Johan Hedberg has been poor. Hedberg has posted a .855 save percentage in eight starts since the injury while getting pulled twice in that span. The Devils have yielded 3.8 goals per game in that stretch compared to 2.2 in the first 17 — 13 of which were played in by Brodeur. Come back Marty – come back!
Offensively the Devils have been what we expected – bottom half of the NHL is goals scored and averaging 2.42 goals per game so far this season. Ilya Kovalchuk has points in four straight games (2-3-5) after picking up just one assist over the previous four games. He has four points in the season series and 13 in his last seven matchups with the Flyers.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• PHI are 3-10 in their last 13 vs. Atlantic.
• PHI are 4-13 in their last 17 road games.
• PHI are 2-6 in their last 8 games following a win.
• NJ are 2-7 in their last 9 overall.
• NJ are 2-7 in their last 9 vs. Eastern Conference.
• NJ are 19-9 in their last 28 home games.
• PHI are 8-23 in the last 31 meetings in New Jersey.
• Home team is 45-21 in the last 66 meetings.
Both the Flyers and the Devils are really struggling. If you base your pick on history, this game is an easy one to predict. But the Devils had Martin Brodeur in net for all of their recent games against Philadelphia. His absence has been left an obvious void in New Jersey’s lineup. Brodeur has been the difference maker the past couple of seasons. His injury paves the way for Philadelphia to break through and climb within a whisker of the elusive .500 mark. I don’t love the Flyers but I like them a lot more than the Devils at the moment.
Pick: Philadelphia Flyers +110
