The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers meet Sunday in NHL action at Madison Square Garden.
The Philadelphia Flyers could use a big road victory after losing six of their last nine games. The Philadelphia Flyers are averaging 2.9 goals per game and are scoring on 12.6 percent of their power play opportunities. Sean Couturier leads Philadelphia with 13 goals, Claude Giroux has 29 assists and Jakub Voracek has 83 shots on goal. Defensively, the Philadelphia Flyers are allowing 3.6 goals per game and are killing 75.2 percent of their opponents power plays. Brian Elliott has given up 34 goals on 384 shots faced and Cal Pickard has allowed 31 goals on 227 shots. The Philadelphia Flyers have allowed four or more goals in six of their last nine games.
The New York Rangers could also use a victory here after losing six of their last eight games. The New York Rangers are averaging 2.8 goals per game and are scoring on 19.8 percent of their power play opportunities. Chris Kreider leads New York with 15 goals, Mika Zibanejad has 19 assists and Kevin Hayes has 77 shots on goal. Defensively, the New York Rangers are allowing 3.2 goals per game and are killing 76.9 percent of their opponents power plays. Henrik Lundqvist has given up 72 goals on 836 shots faced and Alexandar Georgiev has allowed 26 goals on 263 shots. The New York Rangers have allowed four or more goals in seven of their last eight games.
The Flyers are 0-4 in their last 4 road games, 1-4 in their last 5 Sunday games and 2-5 in their last 7 overall. The Rangers are 1-4 in their last 5 games playing on 0 days rest, 1-7 in their last 8 Sunday games and 9-4 in their last 13 home games. The Flyers are 7-20 in the last 27 meetings in New York and 4-0 in the last 4 meetings. The over is 6-1 in Rangers last 7 overall. The under is 4-1 in Flyers last 5 overall.
Both the Flyers and Rangers have had serious defensive issues as of late, which explains both clubs being in the slumps they're currently in. That forces me to look at the over in this matchup, as neither team can keep the puck out of the net. Also, the last four meetings between the Flyers and Rangers have produced an average of 6.75 goals. I like the over in this rather short total.