Free Picks: Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins

Patrick Trudeau
By: Patrick Trudeau
01/24/2021
NHL Free Picks – Best Bets of the Week
NHL Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers vs Boston Bruins, NHL, TD Garden

The Flyers and Bruins are at different ends of the standings, but these teams aren’t so different. With their defensive strengths, both teams have been able to capture victories in low scoring affairs. After combining for 9 goals on Thursday, I can see these two teams creating an offensive encore on Saturday. The Bruins may have broken their offensive curse and the Flyers are talented enough to keep pace.

Are the Boston Bruins still considered a top dog?

With the NHL rearranging divisions for the 2021 season, it’s no secret that the East division is stacked. Even so, the Bruins were projected to be one of the league’s best this season. While they didn’t dominate NHL Stanley Cup odds, the Bruins were a respectable pick to win the holy grail of hockey.

Boston are a modest 2-1-1 to open the 2021 campaign. While any team would be happy to be above .500, a 2-1-1 record has Boston near the bottom of the East standings. Saturday night, their season won’t be any easier when they take on the Philadelphia Flyers.

The two teams met on Thursday, which resulted in a shootout victory for the Bruins. Philadelphia led for the majority of the game until the Bruins tallied 4 goals in the final period to secure a point and push the game into an extra frame.

Despite scoring a total of 9 goals on Thursday, I don’t know if I can trust these teams to have another high-scoring affair. Scoring has not come easy for the Bruins. If we see another huge offensive surge by the Bruins on Saturday, I might look at selecting them to hit the over for future selections on BetPicks. Right now, this team is struggling to score goals.

The Bruins rank as one of the worst offensive teams in the league, scoring only 1.75 goals per game. That has them second to last in the NHL ranks, only above the Anaheim Ducks.

With that being said, I think the 60-minutes total goals is relatively low. Listed at 4.5 (888Sport), I can see Boston and Philadelphia reaching that total with ease.

Even with the Bruins being horrendous on offense, they still have a lot of talent that can bury goals. Yes, they are missing David Pastrnak, but what if Thursday’s contest against the Flyers was the opening of the Bruins’ offensive floodgates? I think the total goals is just too low to NOT hammer.

We all know how elite the Flyers’ offensive has been this season. With the firepower from Philadelphia and the high-ceiling of Boston’s offense, I am confident in this NHL prediction.

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FREE PICK: Boston/Philadelphia Total Goals (60 Minutes) OVER 4.5
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Stats

  • The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games.
  • Philadelphia are 9-3 SU in last 12 games on the road.
  • Boston are 2-4 SU in last 6 games played on a Saturday.
  • The Bruins allow 24 shots against per game.

have always wanted to be a writer and sports are my favorite thing in the world, so I combined the two to make a career. I have been a long-time gambler and sports betting writer that isn't afraid to look at the underdog or specials. I am covering the NHL, MLB and NCAA Football for BetPicks.ca and am a huge fan of both sports - as well as many others. Follow me on Twitter (@Patrick_Trudeau) so we can talk betting, sports, or why ketchup DOES belong on Poutine.

NHL Eastern Metropolitan

 

TeamWLOT%
1Carolina54208.707
2NY Rangers52246.671
3Pittsburgh462511.628
4Washington442612.610
5NY Islanders373510.512
6Columbus37387.494
7New Jersey27469.384
8Philadelphia254611.372

 

NHL Eastern Atlantic

TeamWLOT%
1Florida58186.744
2Toronto54217.701
3Tampa Bay51238.671
4Boston51265.652
5Buffalo323911.457
6Detroit324010.451
7Ottawa33427.445
8Montréal224911.335

 

NHL - Western Central

TeamWLOT%
1Colorado56197.726
2Minnesota53227.689
3St Louis492211.665
4Dallas46306.598
5Nashville45307.591
6Winnipeg393211.543
7Chicago284212.415
8Arizona25507.348

 

NHL - Western Pacific

TeamWLOT%
1Calgary502111.677
2Edmonton49276.634
3Los Angeles442711.604
4Vegas43318.573
5Vancouver403012.561
6San Jose323713.470
7Anaheim313714.463
8Seattle27496.366

 

2021-22 Season
Regular season beginsOctober 12
All-Star & Winter Games breakFebruary 3-22
Trade deadlineMarch 21
Final day of regular seasonApril 29
Stanley Cup Playoffs beginMay 2
Last possible day for PlayoffsJune 30
2022 NHL DraftJuly 7