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Flyers vs. Islanders Betting Preview (August 29, 2020)

By Russ Joy

Published: Aug 29th, 2020 · 3:27 PM EDT

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On Saturday night, the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders meet in the third game of their second-round series. Let’s get into our Flyers-Islanders betting preview, including odds, boosts, and picks.

Flyers vs. Islanders Betting Preview

This game was originally scheduled for Thursday, but after meetings held between the NHL Players Association and the Hockey Diversity Alliance following the shooting of Jacob Blake, the decision was made to postpone all games scheduled for Thursday and Friday. With the second half of a previously-scheduled back-to-back being delayed, lineup changes that could’ve taken effect will likely be held off until Sunday.

Entering this second-round series between the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders, we firmly believed these two teams could go the distance to a Game 7.

In Game 1, the sixth-seed New York Islanders continued their trend of upsetting Top-4 favorites as they shut out the Flyers 4-0, increasing their knockout-round scoring edge over Washington and Philadelphia to 22-7 across six games.

The Philadelphia Flyers team that roughed up the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals appeared to be a distant memory. The team had struggled mightily to score since the knockout rounds began, netting just 15 goals in their first seven games. Entering Game 2, the question surrounding the Flyers’ ability to score became a leading line of questioning with pundits pointing to the goals per game disparity between the Flyers (2.14) and the Islanders (3.67).

The Flyers answered the question in resounding fashion, rushing out to a 3-0 lead, appearing to assert themselves as the lead dog in this series. The ever-resilient Islanders fought back to tie the game up with mere minutes remaining, yet it was the Flyers who had the last laugh.

Just over 24 hours removed from Game 2, can the Flyers maintain the momentum or will the Islanders take back the series lead?

 

Flyers vs. Islanders Odds

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

• Spread: Flyers +1.5 -295, Islanders -1.5 +240
• Moneyline: Flyers -105, Islanders -110
• Over/Under: O 5 -121, U 5 +100

[sb-standard teams=”Philadelphia Flyers” books=”DraftKings”] [metabet_core_odds_compare query=”flyers” size=”300×250″ site_id=”crossingbroad”]

 

Bets We Like With a Flyers Win

Money Puck gives the Flyers just a 44.8% chance of winning this game -down from 54.6% ahead of Game 1 and 51.2% prior to Game 2- installing the Flyers as the underdog for the first time in this series. The Flyers’ implied win probability, based on the moneyline, is 51.2%, which represents a downtick of 1% from ahead of Game 2, which represents the largest disparity between Money Puck’s model and the oddsmakers’ prediction.

 

Flyers Win and Under 5 Total Goals (+280, DraftKings)

This has already proven to be a series that features two evenly-matched teams, with fantastic coaches Barry Trotz and Alain Vigneault leading the way. The O/U is 1-1 thus far this series, with a 4-0 Game 1 result going under 5 total goals and a 4-3 Game 2 scoreline plowing through the 5 goal ceiling.

Until the Flyers prove they can duplicated the scoring output we saw in Game 2, we expect the under to hit. These are two strong defensive teams and it’s likely that Game 2 will stand out as nothing more than a high-scoring anomaly.

Additionally, nine of the Flyer’s past 10 games have gone under the total goals threshold. They’re also 8-1 in their last nine games against Metropolitan Division opponents.

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

 

Kevin Hayes to Score a Goal and Flyers to Win (+450, FOX Bet)

Kevin Hayes had a breakout performance in Game 2, netting two goals, providing a much-needed boost in scoring from one of the team’s highest-paid players. Head coach Alain Vigneault has noted on numerous occasions just how important it is to have a team’s top players “driving the bus”. Hayes has four points (3G/1A) in his past three games. The Flyers will need all the scoring they can get. Ride with Hayes and the Flyers to win at +450 odds.

New users at FOX Bet can get a $20 free bet with no deposit and a $100 deposit match when they sign up in PA here and NJ here.

 

Bets We Like Independent of Outcome

 

Kevin Hayes to Score a Goal (+290, FanDuel)

If you follow the logic of Kevin Hayes keeping up his scoring ways, but are hesitant to attach it to the Flyers to win, you can get Hayes to score a goal at FanDuel Sportsbook at +290 odds.

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

Under 5.5 Goals (-154, FOX Bet)

FOX Bet has great value on a lower O/U. Rather than the O/U 5 total goals at DraftKings, you can hedge a bit and put a total of five or fewer goals in play by taking under 5.5 goals at FOX Bet. Plus, this allows you take the under without having to choose a winner in the evenly-matched game. If you’re feeling frisky, you could snag Under 4.5 goals at +180. Given the potential of a 3-1 game, this could be a worthwhile bet.

 

Flyers vs. Islanders Prediction

Pick: This is sure to be another incredibly tight, hard-hitting game. We’re rolling with the under in the Eastern Conference hub city of Toronto to continue to perform well with the Flyers coming out on top in Game 2.