Flyers vs. Red Wings NHL Line & Handicapping
Banged Up Wings Look to Extend Streak to Five – Host Flyers Wednesday Night
The surging Philadelphia Flyers will try to erase the memory of a horrific history in Detroit when they pay visit to the Windy City on Wednesday night.
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Philadelphia (12-13-1-1) at Detroit (14-7-3-4)
When: 8:00 PM ET, Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Where: Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Broadcast: NBCSN
Flyers vs. Red Wings Betting Lines
Philadelphia Flyers +1½ -275 +114 Ov 5 -113
Detroit Red Wings -1½ +230 -126 Un 5 +102
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In the last 19 regular season games in Detroit Philadelphia has one win, 16 losses and two ties – incredible! But it looks as though the Flyers may just have caught the Wings at precisely the right time – Pavel Datsyuk is still out with concussion-like symptoms and Henrik Zetterberg will miss two weeks with a herniated disc.
The Philadelphia Flyers have turned things around a bit from the ugly start they had to the season – a 8-2-1 stretch has the team 1 game under .500 and the goal scoring woes may be working themselves out.
The Flyers are averaging just 2.07 goals per game but they have scored 35 goals in their last 11 games overall although they were shut out against Minnesota Monday night.
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Claude Giroux has turned things around – four goals and 11 points in his past 12 games for the Flyers. Not bad considering in his first 15 games he had no goals and seven points.
But the list of “Not Hot“ players far outweighs the “Hot“ list. Steve Downie has one point in five games, Brayden Schenn is pointless in three games, Wayne Simmonds and Matt Read are pointless in four, Jakub Voracek has failed to hit the score sheet in five games and Kimmo Timonen has failed to register a point in seven games.
Vincent Lecavalier was scratched Monday due to back spasms – his absence is a blow to the offensively challenged Flyers.
Defensively the Flyers have been OK – allowing just 2.37 goals per game. Ray Emery is 3-3-0 with a 1.53 GAA and a .942 save percentage and Steve Mason is 6-1-1 with a 1.72 GAA in his last eight. Impressive numbers for the keepers but they will need some offensive support to maintain their strong stats.
The Detroit Red Wings will not be able to replace the 23 combined goals and the character that Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg provide for this team.
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They have to hope that the other stars on the team can step up and continue the Joe Louis domination of the Flyers.
The Wings have been decent without Datsyuk – outscoring opponents 18-4 during a five game winning streak. Drew Miller scored twice and Daniel Alfredsson had a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Ottawa on Sunday. Alfredsson has four goals and three assists during the Red Wings’ run, while defenseman Niklas Kronwall has two goals and seven assists during a six-game point streak.
Johan Franzen has seven points in four games, Brenden Smith has three points in two games and Justin Abdelkader has four points in his last four games. The offense seems to be there to fill the enormous void bus as mentioned – without their two top players Detroit will be hard-pressed to keep up their current pace.
It is unclear who will start between the pipes for Detroit Wednesday night but both keepers are playing well at the moment.
Jonas Gustavsson is coming off a 30 save effort against Ottawa and is 7-0-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average while Jimmy Howard has a 2.57 GAA and .937 save percentage in 19 games this year.
Betting Prediction
A few trends to consider:
• Under is 6-1-2 in PHI last 9 road games.
• Under is 18-7-4 in PHI last 29 overall.
• Under is 7-3-1 in PHI last 11 vs. Atlantic.
• Over is 6-2 in DET last 8 vs. Eastern Conference.
• DET are 8-3 in their last 11 games following a win.
• Under is 5-2-2 in DET last 9 Wed. games.
• Home team is 17-1 in the last 18 meetings.
• PHI are 1-10 in the last 11 meetings in Detroit.
Well, the depth and character of the Wings will certainly be challenged on Wednesday night – my first thought was to take the underdog road team. But the ghost of Joe Louis Arena looms – the Flyers can`t seem to win in that building.
I think the other leaders on the Wings step up and do enough to secure victory for the home team.
Pick: Detroit Red Wings -126
