New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers Betting Picks

I was on the Flyers in last night’s opener, and Pittsburgh goalie Arturs Silovs stopped all 19 shots in a 7-0 loss while Philadelphia gave up 38. Tonight starts with a New Jersey offense that ranked 27th in the league last season at 2.80 goals a game. The Devils scored 230 goals in 82 games, 20 fewer than Philadelphia, and they scored one goal or none in three of their final ten games. Philadelphia’s defense allowed 243 goals, 2.96 a game, the ninth-fewest in the league and 11 fewer than New Jersey’s. The Flyers are also on the second night of a back-to-back, and last season they scored 2.79 goals a game on the second night of one, compared with 3.05 across the full season. That is a drop of roughly a quarter of a goal a game. Ten of those 14 games finished at or below the total posted for this one. Back the UNDER tonight.

New Jersey is hoping the day of the week will help it snap a two-game skid, as the Devils are 7-0 in their past seven Saturday games, while the Flyers are 4-8 in their past 12 Saturday contests. They have also won seven of 10 against the Eastern Conference, although the Devils come off a 1-0 loss to Florida. Philadelphia has lost five of nine, and the Flyers are 1-4 in their past five home games. The Flyers are 19-55 in their past 74 games against teams with .600 winning percentages. Philadelphia has gone OVER five straight against opponents who scored two or fewer goals in their previous game, and the Flyers are 12-6 OVER against the Eastern Conference. Dan Vladar will start for the Flyers, and he was the winner in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over St. Louis. However, he allowed five goals on 28 shots in his previous outing in a 5-1 loss to Dallas. Take the Devils and the OVER. 

New Jersey has lost three in a row to the best teams in the Western Conference, Vegas, Dallas, and Winnipeg. Now, they step down in competition against a Flyers squad that has a minus-31 goal differential, the second-worst in the Eastern Conference. New Jersey has a winning road record (18-14-2) and ranks fourth on the power play, while the defense is second in goals allowed (2.55 per game), fourth in penalty killing, and third in save percentage (.910). Philadelphia has losing records both home and away. The offense is 18th in goals scored and 28th on the power play, losing three in a row by a 14-4 count. The defense is 28th in goals given up (3.33 per game), 18th in penalty killing, and last in save percentage (.884). Play New Jersey.