Philadelphia Flyers vs New York Rangers Prediction, Betting Odds, and Our Best Bet

The Philadelphia Flyers are coming in today with a decent 22-20-6 record to take on the New York Rangers and their 23-20-4 record at Madison Square Garden. Both teams come in looking to build on some recent wins, with the Rangers priced as -150 favorites and the Flyers as the +125 underdogs.

The puck drops at 7:00 PM ET, so, there’s plenty of time to get your bets in for this Metropolitan Division clash.

Flyers vs Rangers: Betting Odds and Analysis

The Rangers hold the edge coming into tonight as home favorites — a big thanks to their deeper roster and stronger goaltending.

Igor Shesterkin is taking the crease with a smoking-hot 2.78 goals-against average and a nice .911 save percentage. He has been a steady presence in the net for New York. His counterpart at the other end of the ice however, Samuel Ersson, has just a .892 save percentage for the Flyers highlights their defensive vulnerabilities.

Offensively, the Rangers are led by one of the best, Artemi Panarin, who has 48 points this season which includes 20 goals. New York has also seen some contributions from defenseman Adam Fox, who boasts a whopping 36 assists and a +6 rating. This duo is simply unstoppable when they’re paired up together.

The Flyers, on the other hand, have fewer tools but rely heavily on Travis Konecny, who leads the team with a respectable 54 points consisting of 21 goals and 33 assists.

Both teams have had some fairly inconsistent offenses this season. The Flyers rank just 14th in goals scored with 145, while the Rangers sit at 18th with 138. However, New York’s ability to limit scoring chances could be the deciding factor as they rank 15th with 142 vs the Flyers who are 28th with 159.

Recent Form and Key Insights

The Flyers have been in strong form recently. They’ve won 4 of their last 5 games, including a 2-1 OT win over Detroit the other night. They’ve also shown they can beat some of the best teams, with recent wins over the Devils and Panthers. However, their defense is what remains a concern for us as they’ve given up plenty of high-danger opportunities.

The Rangers are 6-1-3 in their last 10 games, including a dominant 5-0 win against Ottawa. Their power play unit sits at 20.2%, which hasn’t been great, but it still outclasses the Flyers’ 28th-ranked unit at 16.4%. New York also has the edge on the PK unit as they have one of the best in the league with 83.6%.

In their only prior meeting this season, the Flyers came out on top with a 3-1 win way back in November. However, this is now 2 months later and both teams look a little different than they did then and the Rangers have the firepower and depth to even the score in this one.

Will the Rangers have enough to exact vengeance against this Metropolitan Division rival?

Prediction and Best Bet

The Rangers are in better shape overall. 

Their defense, combined with the ever-dominant Shesterkin in net, gives them a clear advantage for tonight’s game. Plus, the Flyers are dealing with injuries to Scott Laughton and Ryan Poehling, which weakens their depth at center. That’s not to say they can’t figure out how to win without them, but it does limit them in the zone.

We’re expecting the Rangers to control the pace of the game for the most part. Given that they’re taking this fight on their home ice this time and their ability to neutralize the Flyers’ offensive threats, we think they have this one in the bag.

Philadelphia’s defensive lapses and poor special teams play will simply be too much to overcome.

• Best Bet: Take the Rangers -1.5 (+165)

We like the puck line in this game. New York should win by multiple goals, given their edge in goaltending and penalty killing. Given that both teams find themselves down a man pretty often, special teams are going to undeniably play a big role in tonight’s game.

If you want to play it safe, then take the moneyline on the Rangers, however, shifting the odds from -150 for the moneyline to +165 for the puckline seems like a steal considering they can easily beat out the Flyers by 2+.

• Prediction: Rangers 4, Flyers 2