Free Picks: Philadelphia Flyers vs. New York Rangers

Carter Hart has been the backbone of Philly goaltending for a handful of seasons. Despite that, I am not convinced he is an elite tendy in the NHL. With that being said, this opens the door for a high-scoring game that favors the Flyers. New York is a decent team, but their offense has struggled mightily this season. I think we see a huge game from Philadelphia that helps this bet cash.

The number one netminder in Philadelphia has been the talk of the town for the Flyers. The youngster has backstopped the Flyers to incredible victories during his short career. The future of Philly goaltending, Hart will be a household name in Philadelphia for years to come.

But with how ruthless the Philly faithful is, do you consider him elite or a top goaltender in the NHL? Entering Wednesday’s contest against the New York Rangers, Hart has solid numbers all around, but it’s tough to confirm whether or not he is elite.

What I am getting at with this? Well, I think Hart’s performance is enough to affect my pick and prediction for this contest. I think the Flyers can defeat the Rangers on the Moneyline, but I want to double down and look at the total goals as well.

Despite being one of the best teams in the NHL, the Flyers aren’t considered an elite defensive team. They would be considered average, which isn’t a knock on them by any stretch. But with that being said, Philly has allowed a decent number of goals in recent games that has me looking at the over.

Opposite to Philly, the Rangers are in the elite category in total goals against. Ranked 8th in the league, New York has done a great job in stopping opposing teams from scoring. How does that play out Wednesday? Well, I think the Flyers find a way to creep up the scoreboard and score 3 or 4 goals on New York.

The Flyers have the second-highest shots against per game, but lowest shots per game. Even with Philadelphia taking a low number of shots per game, they are still ranked highly in goals per game. The Rangers allow 28 shots per game, which is above the Flyers’ average of 23 shots per game.

Straight up, I think the Flyers take this victory. However, with the addition of New York’s defense allowing nearly 30 shots per game, that opens the door for Philadelphia to score. On top of that, the Flyers are allowing a great chunk of shots against per game as well.

New York and Philadelphia both allowing a ton of shots is fantastic. Both teams have a relatively high GAA, which leads me to believe we see a high-scoring game on Wednesday.

• The total has gone OVER in 12 of Philadelphia’s last 18 games.
• Philadelphia scores 3.40 goals per game but allows 3.27 goals per game.
• The Rangers have scored 7 goals in last 2 games.
• New York ranks 6^th in total shots.