Flyers vs. Canadiens Betting Preview (August 14, 2020)

On Friday afternoon, the Flyers and Canadiens meet in the second game of their Best-of-7 series in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Philadelphia captured the first game of the series. Can Montreal even the series? Let’s get into our Flyers-Canadiens betting preview, including odds, boosts, and picks.

Flyers vs. Canadiens Betting Preview

We’d be remiss if this preview didn’t begin with the news that Canadiens head coach Claude Julien will not be behind the bench for Montreal for Game 2 and is not expected to return this series, following hospitalization after experiencing chest pains Wednesday night after Game 1.

Will Julien’s absence light another spark under a Habs team that threw arguably their best punch in Game 1? Does the promotion of Kirk Muller to acting head coach inspire confidence in the locker room? Can Carey Price follow up a strong performance in which he saved 29 of 31 shots, including a save for the ages? Can Montreal get more than a single goal against a staunch Flyers squad that forechecks better than any other team in the Eastern Conference? There are so many questions for the Canadiens that need to be answered.

The Flyers, on the other hand, put together a solid first period in Game 1, weathered the strongest northern storm since Hardhome, and held on for the win in the third period. The only real questions surrounding the Flyers is whether or not James van Riemsdyk and Shayne Gostisbehere will be back in the lineup as the former made little-to-no impact on the fourth line and the latter had an up-and-down game on a pairing with Justin Braun that quite frankly isn’t a great match.

Flyers vs. Canadiens Odds

Here’s the line for the Flyers and Canadiens at DraftKings Sportsbook PA:

Spread: Flyers -1.5 +170, Canadiens +1.5 -210
Moneyline: Flyers -148, Canadiens +126
Over/Under: O 5 -141, U 5 +117

[sb-standard teams=”Philadelphia Flyers” books=”DraftKings”]

Bets We Like With a Flyers Win

Money Puck gives the Flyers an 60.3% chance of winning this game. It’s worth noting that Money Puck has been nearly perfect at predicting Flyers game results, the lone outlier being a Round Robin game against the Lightning where they gave the Flyers a 49.4% chance of victory. The Flyers’ implied win probability, based on the moneyline, is 59.7%, which is the exact percentage we saw ahead of Game 1.

Flyers Win and Under 5 Total Goals (+260, DraftKings)

We rolled with this bet ahead of Wednesday’s game and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. There’s not a ton of value in just taking the Flyers moneyline, but the trend of the under hitting in the Eastern Conference bubble in Toronto cannot be ignored. Entering Friday, the under has gone 20-7-1 in games played in Toronto during the Round Robin, Qualifying Round, and Round 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Keep in mind that in three regular season matchups, the Flyers and Canadiens combined for exactly five goals twice and seven goals once. If the O/U shifts moves to 5.5 goals, you should jump on it and feel even more confident in this one.

You can get this one at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking here.

Flyers, Blues, and Islanders All to Win (+300, FOX Bet)

We’ve outline all of the reasons to take the Flyers to win, so this hinges on the Blues and Islanders.

St. Louis has struggled in the third period of games since the NHL resumed play. They dropped two of three games in the regular season against Vancouver. But, they’re still the defending Stanley Cup champions and ended the regular season with the most points in the Western Conference.

The Islanders won three of four games in their Qualifying Round series against the Panthers by a total goal margin of 13-7. They pulled off a Game 1 upset over the Capitals 4-2. The four regular season games were dead-even with each team winning two games in regulation with a total goal tally of 14-14.

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Bets We Like Independent of Outcome

Under 5.5 Goals (-145, FanDuel)

If you’re hesitant about taking the Flyers to win and under 5 goals parlay out of fear the game could see exactly five goals, as occurred twice in the regular season between these teams, your best value for under 5.5 goals is at FanDuel Sportsbook at -145.

You can get this one at FanDuel Sportsbook PA by clicking here.

Under 5 Goals (+117, DraftKings)

If you’re comfortable going down to Under 5 goals independent of outcome, you can get that at +117 odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. As mentioned above, the under is 20-7-1 in Toronto and the trend is more solid when factoring in the two teams involved. The Flyers past five games and four of the past Canadiens game have seen the under hit.

The Canadiens simply don’t have much in terms of offensive firepower and Carey Price is capable of keeping a hot Philadelphia team reasonably in check.

You can get this one at DraftKings Sportsbook by clicking here.

Flyers vs. Canadiens Prediction

Pick: The Flyers are a hot team worth picking until they prove otherwise. Likewise, the under hitting in games in Toronto cannot be ignored. Take the Flyers and Under 5 Total Goals.

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