The Philadelphia Flyers are riding a 10-game losing streak into Friday’s clash with the Vegas Golden Knights, who are coming off their third straight win. It’s the first meeting between these inter-conference rivals, but as they’re on different paths right now, markets quite rightly consign favor to the hosts.
Moreover, with the Flyers’ suspect defending and goaltending set to face one of the most potent offenses in the league, this game is a perfect target for the over bet online.
BetUS Sportsbook opened with the Vegas Golden Knights as the whopping -230 favorites on the moneyline while projecting the game on a 1½-point puckline.
- Game: Philadelphia Flyers (8-12-4) at Vegas Golden Knights (15-10-0)
- Location:T-Mobile Arena, Vegas
- Day/Time: Friday, 10:08 p.m. ET
- Television: ESPN
Philadelphia Flyers at Vegas Golden Knights
Free-Falling Flyers
Alain Vigneault was sacked on Monday, a day after the Flyers suffered an embarrassing 7-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lighting. Assistant Mike Therrien got the boot as well, while assistant Mike Yeo was retained to fill in as the interim head coach.
A multi-game losing streak that saw the Flyers “lose their way,” as described by Philadelphia General Manager Chuck Fletcher, prompted the coaching shake-up. Alas, it didn’t bring an immediate turnaround as the Flyers lost their next two games under Yeo. They lost 7-5 to the Colorado Avalanche and 3-0 to the New Jersey Devils.
Firing the coach is a superficial fix, but it doesn’t get to the bottom of the issue. In Philadelphia’s case, it’s the slumping offense and porous defense that are the real concerns. The Flyers are at bottom of the standings in both aspects of the game.
The Flyers are scoring merely 2.33 goals per game (27th) and they’re conceding 3.33 goals (25th). In the last 10 games, these stats are worse with an average of 1.8 goals scored and 4.3 goals conceded.
NHL Final Score: #BringItToBroad 0 #NJDevils 3
The Philadelphia Flyers have lost 10 games in a row
(🎥: @NJDevils) pic.twitter.com/sgg2hpUe6C
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) December 9, 2021
Knights on the Move
Offense continues to lead the way for the Golden Knights, who are off to a solid start. They’ve won three in a row to improve to a 15-10-0 overall .
Their latest streak includes wins over the Arizona Coyotes (road), Calgary Flames and Dallas Stars (both at home). The Knights rallied to defeat the Dallas Stars 5-4 on Wednesday to come through as the home favorites.
Combined, the Knights have outscored this triplet 15-7. The scored an average of five goals and conceded 2.33 goals during the streak, which is an improvement on their stats in the last 10 games.
Over those last 10, Vegas has averaged 3.9 goals scored and 3.0 goals conceded. On the season, the Golden Knights rank inside the top-five most potent offenses with 3.4 goals per game.
The offense is spearheaded by Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, who have combined for 21 goals and 14 assists on the top line. Vegas is also getting contributions from across the board with Chandler Stephenson, Evgenii Dadonov, and Max Pacioretty adding 23 goals and 23 assists combined. Add to that the defense’s contributions, and one could argue that Vegas is one of the most balanced teams on attack.
On the downside, the defense is the weakest link. It has been more porous than coach Peter DeBoer would like. The last three games, however, show promising signs with just 2.33 goals allowed. It remains to be seen whether they can continue that positive form.
Back Knights in High-Scoring Win
One has to believe Philadelphia’s skid will come to an end at some point – streaks (winning or losing) inevitably come to a halt. Doing it at the expense of the Golden Knights is going to be a tough ask, though.
Vegas isn’t infallible. Its defense has let it down at times, but, more often than not, the offense has masked those shortcomings by putting up points in a hurry. As far as this matchup is concerned, the Flyers don’t appear to pose a threat and that fact underscores Vegas’ NHL odds for this game. Back the Golden Knights to cover in a lopsided victory that cracks the total for this game. You can bet these picks as two single bets or lump them together in a parlay. You decide.
