The Anaheim Ducks and the Philadelphia Flyers are two long shots to make the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, let alone win the Cup. But that doesn’t mean they are not capable of putting up an entertaining contest this Tuesday night when the Ducks pay the City of Brotherly Love a visit. The Flyers won the first meeting on Jan. 2, 4-1, in Anaheim. Will the Ducks avenge that loss successfully later tonight? Or will the Flyers score yet another victory at the expense of Anaheim? With all that being said, let’s now take a look at our NHL odds series plus our Ducks-Flyers prediction for this showdown scheduled at 7:00 PM ET.
Here are the Ducks-Flyers NHL odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NHL Odds: Ducks -Flyers Odds
Anaheim Ducks: +1.5 (-1690)
Philadelphia Flyers: -1.5 (+130)
Over: 6.0(-120)
Under: 6.0 (-102)
How To Watch Ducks -Flyers
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 ET/4:00 PT
*Watch NHL games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Ducks Could Cover The Spread
The Ducks aren't all too mighty this season. They're arguably the worst team in the NHL today, as they only have 12 wins to show thus far. Anaheim will come into Tuesday's date with the Flyers on the heels of a losing skid that got extended to four games following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road. If moral victories mean anything, the Ducks could draw inspiration even from that close defeat at the hands of Sidney Crosby and the Pens.
The Ducks even had a 3-2 lead in the third period but just couldn't hold on to it. Just managing to keep in step with Pittsburgh should give Anaheim confidence heading into the rematch versus Philly, which isn't really doing much well this season than the Ducks. If the Ducks are to score a rare win these days, it's likely going to be against a lowly team like the Flyers, whose special teams will face facing a suddenly active Anaheim power play. The Ducks went 2 for 4 on the man advantage against Pittsburgh. Prior to that game, they went 1 for 4 on the power play in a 6-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils at home.
Trevor Zegras has arguably been the best player of the Ducks so far, and once again, his team will be leaning on him for offensive production, though, don't be surprised if it's Adam Henrique who would deliver the goods for Anaheim later tonight. The 32-year-old Henrique has five goals and two assists in the last 10 Ducks games. Troy Terry could also be due for a big game, as he hasn't scored a goal over the same stretch, though, he managed to collect eight assists. Terry leads the Ducks with 34 points. Anaheim can capitalize on what could be a demoralized Flyers defense that just got absolutely wrecked in a loss to the Boston Bruins last Monday in Beantown.
The total has hit the Over in all of the Ducks' five most recent games.
Why The Flyers Could Cover The Spread
Philadelphia is coming off a brutal 6-0 road loss to the Bruins to start the week. The Flyers were having lots of success on the ice before that defeat, as they won three games in a row, including a two-game sweep of the Washington Capitals in a home-and-away series. Sometimes, you just don't know what to expect of a team that is being coached by John Tortorella, but whatever he's doing from the sidelines and behind the scenes, it appears to be working, notwithstanding the loss to Boston. Over their last 10 games, the Flyers have gone 7-2-0 with a 101.8 PDO.
In that span, they scored 32 goals and allowed only 24. And there's no better team to play against when looking to lift up one's spirit, especially on offense, than the Ducks, whose leaky defense has holes bigger than the state of California. Anaheim is last in the league with 4.16 goals allowed per game. It is the only team in the 2022-23 NHL season that is giving up more than 4.0 goals per outing. In addition to those numbers, the Ducks have 119.7 expected goals against (5-on-5) — another last-placed figure in the NHL. Even if the Flyers find themselves trailing in the game this Tuesday, it's been proven over and over again this season that teams can easily trim down Anaheim's lead or turn a game into a blowout in their favor because of the Ducks' poor defense.
When the Flyers blew out Anaheim earlier this month, they scored the game's first three goals and were only less than a minute away from completing a shutout. Goalie Carter Hart could be in front of the net tonight for the Flyers. He's been a positive asset for Philadelphia, for the most part, this season. Despite the challenges, Hart has managed to put up a 13-13-6 record to go with a 3.00 GA/G and .907 SV%. Per Money Puck, Hart owns the eighth-best goals saved above expected figure (12.2) among goalies with at least 15 games played. He is also ninth with 0.408 goals saved above expected per 60 minutes.
The Flyers are 5-2 in their last seven games versus Anaheim.
Final Ducks-Flyers Prediction & Pick
The Flyers have a long way to go before they can turn into a serious playoff contender, but they have already shown enough of late to warrant bettors’ confidence in them when playing teams like Anaheim. Taking the Flyers to win and cover.
Final Ducks-Flyers Prediction & Pick: Philadelphia Flyers -1.5 (+130)
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