The Flyers stand out among the remaining Eastern Conference teams. Not for great reason. But the reason doesn’t matter. They have earned their way to the second round. For better or worse, their reward is a dance with the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes made quick work by way of a sweep of a Senators team that was in great form entering the postseason. Following a phenomenal regular season, Carolina looks stellar. This should be a great series, and it all starts tonight.
If you will be tuning in and want to have some action, I have picked out my favorite same-game parlay bets for the Flyers vs Hurricanes on Saturday, May 2, with lines and odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook at the time of publishing. Also, be sure to check out our NHL predictions for the game tonight and EVERY game throughout the playoffs.
Same-game parlay: +500
Hurricanes -1.5 (+124)
Over 5.5 (-125)
Andrei Svechnikov anytime goalscorer (+175)
Hurricanes -1.5 (+124)
The Hurricanes are decently heavy favorites to win this series. Rightfully so. But the Flyers will not just roll over. This absolutely could be a long series, but game 1 sets up great for Carolina. The Hurricanes will have had a full week off to rest and recover from a hard hitting series that they happened to sweep. Carolina’s sweep was about as decisive as it gets. At no point in 4 games did the Hurricanes trail. They are back in front of the home crowd with a week of recovery under their belt to roll that form into a new series.
The Flyers were not bad by any stretch. But this is a new beast. The Hurricanes were a Stanley Cup favorite entering the regular season. They played as such all year, and through just one round of the playoffs, look the part. Carolina fared better in several statistical categories than Philadelphia during the regular season, and have as well thus far in the playoffs. For all intents and purposes, the Hurricanes look like the better team. On Saturday, their primary advantages are rest and home-ice. Both of which have been good to the Hurricanes this year. This one looks great for Carolina.
Over 5.5 (-125)
Both the Flyers and Hurricanes flexed solid goal prevention in their first-round series. But neither of them were exactly tested. Ottawa was largely absent in their 4-game sweep at the hands of Carolina. They did not challenge the Hurricanes much at all. The same can almost be said for Pittsburgh. They did not challenge Philadelphia for the majority of the series. Both opponents of the Flyers and Hurricanes made it relatively easy to keep the puck out of the net. That is not likely to remain the trend in the second round.
The Hurricanes scored the second-most goals per game in the NHL this year. That is not horribly surprising considering Carolina had 7 players score 20+ goals this year, 8 players with 44+ points, and not a single player with a negative plus-minus rating. In what was a loaded Eastern Conference this season, the Hurricanes were the best and their ability to produce was a big reason. Their opponent is no slouch either on the offensive side of the puck. The Flyers are loaded with character players that have come up big when it matters so far in this young postseason. The pure matchup here bodes well for goals, and the over adds nice value to this same-game parlay.
Andrei Svechnikov anytime goalscorer (+175)
Andrei Svechnikov carries the shortest odds in this game to score a goal, and for good reason. He scored 31 goals and had 70 points for the Hurricanes this year. Those ranked 2nd and 3rd on the team respectively. Both stats of which bested any player on the Flyers roster. It was the best season of his career in terms of production and career highs. With that has come a well-earned spot on the Hurricanes’ top line and top power play with the likes of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis, and Jaccob Slavin among other stellar players Svechnikov shares the ice with.
Svechnikov is obviously a productive player. But it only helps that every time he steps on the ice, he is joined by productive teammates as well. The opportunity will be there, he just has to capitalize. The elephant in the room is that Svechnikov went pointless in the opening round series against the Senators. But a few key Hurricanes players underachieved in terms of personal stats in the first round. This is a good team that will not make a run without contributions from their big players. Svechnikov will have to score at some point, and do so with more regularity, if this team is going to make a run. Look for a fresh, energized Carolina first line push to produce, anchored by a goal performance by Svechnikov.
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