Flyers, Bruins Battle for Playoff Positioning in Round-Robin Opener

Two of the NHL’s top teams will begin competing for the top seed in the Eastern Conference on Sunday when the Philadelphia Flyers face the Boston Bruins.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

There has been some movement toward Philadelphia, but not enough to make a significant difference in terms of the betting line. Boston was the best team in the league for most of the regular season while Philadelphia came on strong late and nearly stole the Metropolitan Division title away from the Washington Capitals. However, that momentum gained by both teams from more than five months ago is all but gone now.

Philadelphia News & Notes

The Flyers saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end in the last game before play was halted, falling 2-0 to the Bruins at home in a Pick’em matchup that also saw the UNDER cash in their third straight overall. A victory there would have given Philadelphia the Metro title over Washington, although now that is moot considering the same teams are playing a round-robin for seeding anyway. While the Flyers must start over like every other team in the postseason, the long layoff may impact them even more, especially because they were a below average road team with a 16-18-3 mark away from home. The good news is that goaltender Carter Hart (24-13-3, 2.42 Goals Against Average) was great down the stretch and could be this year’s Jordan Binnington if he can keep it up.

Boston News & Notes

The biggest concern for Boston is fatigue after playing into the middle of June last year and then being asked to pick up where they left off five months later after dominating the league for five more months. Sure, the Bruins had the best goalie combo for the second season in a row between Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, but that does not matter much now when they have to rely on one of them in an effort to get back to the Stanley Cup Final. Rask was remarkable a year ago until meeting the St. Louis Blues in the championship round, and he beat Philadelphia with a 36-save shutout in the last meeting on March 10. The question is, can he and winger David Pastrnak (95 points) continue their stellar play here, or will they pace themselves and save energy for the next round?

Betting Pick: Flyers +120

This game is much more important to the Flyers, who would love a more favorable matchup in the first round. Philadelphia would like to avoid the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes, so earning one of the top two seeds is crucial. On the other hand, Boston should not be as concerned about that, instead focusing more on staying healthy.