Thursday NHL Odds, Projected Starting Goalies and Predictions – Flyers vs Penguins Picks
- The Philadelphia Flyers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins as road underdogs on Thursday, November 4th
- Sidney Crosby will be out of the Penguins’ lineup again after testing positive for COVID-19
- See the Flyers vs Penguins odds, betting analysis and best bet for this big NHL rivalry matchup
It’s the first of four matchups in the Battle of Pennsylvania tonight as the Philadelphia Flyers pay a visit to their hated rivals from across the way, the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena with puck drop at 7pm ET and
the Penguins listed as short moneyline favorites at home on the NHL betting line.
We’ve seen a ton of wild affairs between these two sides over the years and we don’t expect this one to let us down either, although it is disappointing that Penguins’ captain Sidney Crosby will be missing in action. Crosby made his season debut on Saturday after offseason wrist surgery, but tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday and will once again be sidelined amongst others on the Pens.
So will the depleted Penguins rise up to the challenge? Let’s take a look at the Flyers vs Penguins odds and lines while also peaking at SBD’s NHL best bet for this Eastern Conference matchup.
Flyers vs Penguins Odds
| Game Time | Team | Puck Line | Total | Moneyline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7pm ET | Philadelphia Flyers | +1.5 (-255) | O 6 (-110) | -105 |
| November 4th, 2021 | Pittsburgh Penguins | -1.5 (+205) | U 6 (-110) | -115 |
Odds as of November 3rd at DraftKings
It’s important to keep in mind, the Penguins have been riddled with injuries all season so far and have still managed to be competitive at 3-3-2.
Not the news we were hoping for.
Coach Sullivan confirms that Sidney Crosby and Brian Dumoulin missed practice after testing positive for COVID-19. Both players are in the COVID protocol right now.
Crosby has mild symptoms and Dumoulin is currently asymptomatic.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 3, 2021
In fact, without their top three centers, their top defenseman and one of their best wingers, they defeated the Maple Leafs 7-1 a couple of weeks ago! Just look at the difference in the names atop their scoring leaders from this season compared to last.
Penguins Scoring Leaders through 8 Games
| This Season | Points | Last Season | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danton Heinen | 6 | Sidney Crosby | 7 |
| Brock McGinn | 5 | Bryan Rust | 6 |
| Evan Rodrigues | 5 | Teddy Blueger | 5 |
| Drew O’Connor | 5 | Jake Guentzel | 5 |
The star power is definitely missing on the left hand side of your screen, but the players in the lineup are still keeping the Penguins from falling out of the playoff race, although their Stanley Cup odds have taken a hit as they’re at +2800 with the oddsmakers betting that Sid and company don’t have another run left in them.
Flyers Back on Track
The Flyers, on the other hand, have been one of the more entertaining and surprising teams early this NHL season, with a record of 5-2-1 and scoring an average of 3.5 goals per game, good for sixth in the league. The hot start still isn’t good enough to have them in the top eight in the Eastern Conference Playoff picture according to the NHL playoff odds, but their betting odds to make it have shortened from +104 at the start of the season to -125 right now.
They were scoring a ton early on, but got shutout by Calgary Saturday before rebounding with a 3-0 shutout of their own over the lowly Coyotes Tuesday.
The Flyers had the slight advantage in the head-to-head matchup when the teams met eight times during the COVID-19 impacted season last year and a lot of goals were scored between the two.
Flyers vs Penguins Recent Results
| Date | Home-Away | Money Line | Puck Line | Over/Under |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 05/04/2021 | PHI 3 – PIT 7 | PIT | PIT | Over |
| 05/03/2021 | PHI 7 – PIT 2 | PHI | PHI | Over |
| 04/15/2021 | PIT 1 – PHI 2 (SO) | PHI | PHI | Under |
| 03/06/2021 | PIT 4 – PHI 3 | PIT | PHI | Over |
| 03/04/2021 | PIT 3 – PHI 4 | PHI | PIT | Over |
Coming off a shutout, the Flyers will ride the hot hand with Carter Hart in goal. Hart had a miserable campaign last year, but actually performed well against the Penguins with a 3-1 record and 2.70 GAA. Pittsburgh will likely counter with their own number 1 in Tristan Jarry, as backup Casey DeSmith has struggled so far.
Flyers vs Penguins Projected Starting Goalies
| Team | Goalie | Record | SV% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | Carter Hart | 3-2-0 | .928 | 2.33 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | Tristan Jarry | 3-2-0 | .926 | 2.15 |
The Penguins defense could be missing three regulars due to COVID protocol, so Jarry could be seeing a lot of rubber in this one from the free-wheeling Flyers.
Flyers vs Penguins Prediction & Prediction
This is a tough one to call, as it always is between these two rivals. In the end, although they’re a very well coached team, I think the injuries are going to catch up to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia will win a tight one.
Pick: Philadelphia Flyers Moneyline (-105)
George has had a lifelong love affair with sports and studying sports statistics since he was a kid. He graduated from Ryerson University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and has worked in the sports & media industry ever since in various roles from writer to producer.
