NHL Betting: Bruins vs Flyers

Tonight’s NHL betting affair between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins looks like an even matchup on paper as it features the sixth- and eighth-place teams in the Eastern Conference. But if you delve deeper you’ll find that these teams are going in very opposite directions, with Boston nose diving heading down the stretch and the Flyers peaking at just the right time. It will be final meeting between these two Eastern Conference rivals, and the first since Boston's 2-1 overtime victory in Winter Classic from Fenway Park.

The big reason for the Bruins downfall of late has been injuries, with Marc Savard being the latest skater to go down. Savard has missed 23 games with foot and knee injuries and his offensive touch has been sorely missed as the B’s are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL. Right now it is unsure if he will play at all for the rest of the season after suffering his fourth reported concussion of his career.

The Flyers, with the exception of Ray Emery who is out for the season, are healthy and have been so for the majority of the season. Losing your number one goalie is obviously not ideal but they seem to be confident with Michael Leighton between the pipes. The journeyman tender has the support of his head coach and teammates, so it’s up to him to lead this team down the home stretch and into the playoffs.

So far, it seems to be working as Philly is 7-1-1 in their last nine games and are a completely different team since they last played the Bruins in the Winter Classic. That game was actually a bit of a turning point for both the Flyers and the Bruins. Philly has posted a 16-8-1 record since and now sit sixth in the Eastern Conference with 74 points while Boston has lost an astonishing 17 out of 25 games since the Classic, going 8-12-5.

Here are some NHL Betting trends for this matchup:

• Over is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Philadelphia.
• Bruins are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Philadelphia.
• Road team is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.
• Underdog is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.

Boston will be looking to salvage a split of the season series as the Flyers beat the Bruins in the first two meetings this year before the Winter Classic. Philly has won four of six overall, but they have had a tough times against the Bruins in Philly, where the B’s have taken six of eight and seven of their last ten at the Wachovia Center.

Still, that may be a moot point as judging by how these teams have been playing lately. Philadelphia has been pretty much untouchable at home lately, winning five straight and 11 of their last 13 games. On the season they are 20-11-2 at the Wachovia Center and will add one more to the win column tonight.

At -165, my NHL betting pick is on the Flyers to take advantage of a reeling Bruins team tonight.

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