Flyers at Rangers: Projected lines, betting info, and what to watch for

The Philadelphia Flyers are looking to string two wins together for the first time this month. The Flyers beat the Rangers 5-4 in overtime on Monday night.

The Flyers haven’t won more than one game in a row since they won three straight from February 24th to 28th. They beat the Rangers at home and then swept the Sabres with a pair of shutouts in Buffalo. Since then, they are just 3-5-0 with two of those wins coming in overtime or shootout.

The Flyers and Rangers finish off a two-game set tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Projected lines and pairs

The Flyers have a shakeup in their bottom six tonight.

James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier –Joel Farabee
Scott Laughton – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny
Michael Raffl – Claude Giroux – Jakub Voracek
Connor Bunnaman – Nolan Patrick – Andy Andreoff

Oskar Lindblom and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are healthy scratches for the game. It’s a bit of a curious move, but they’ll be fresh tomorrow night on Long Island.

The defense has a new third pair as well.

Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim – Phil Myers
Robert Hagg – Erik Gustafsson

Shayne Gostisbehere being a healthy scratch is surprising given his recent play, particularly on the power play. Nate Prosser, however, should be a healthy scratch.

Brian Elliott gets the start tonight.

Brian Elliott
Carter Hart

Follow us on Twitter (@PhillyHockeyNow) and keep an eye out for lineup updates as we get closer to game time.

Betting odds and trends

*via Covers

• The Flyers are -135 favorites (bet $135 to win $100) and the total is set at 6 goals.

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• Flyers are 36-16 in their last 52 games playing on 1-day rest.
• Flyers are 40-15 in their last 55 games as a favorite.
• Rangers are 0-7 in their last 7 in the third game of a 3-in-4 situation.
• Rangers are 7-19 in their last 26 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation.
• Rangers are 1-5 in their last 6 games as a home underdog.
• Flyers are 5-0 in the last 5 meetings in New York.
• Flyers are 11-2 in the last 13 meetings.
• Favorite is 20-8 in the last 28 meetings.

What to watch for

1. Elliott back in net

Carter Hart was solid in his return to starting action on Monday night. The Rangers scored four goals, but none of them Hart had much of a chance on. On the other hand, Hart made a few tremendous saves to keep the Flyers in the game.

The Flyers’ defensive struggles returned on Monday night, but their goalie bailed them out enough to keep them in it. On top of that, their offense was able to go goal-for-goal with the Rangers and come out on top.

Elliott struggled on Saturday against the Capitals, but he’s had three days off since then. Hopefully, he can return to form with those few days under his belt.

2. Power play coming alive

The Flyers power play may be coming alive again. They have scored in four straight games and in six of their last seven games. They scored two power-play goals in the same game on Monday night for the first time since February 24th. They are 5 for 14 over the past four games and 7 for 24 over the past seven games.

Turning Point: Jake Voracek calls his shot on Claude Giroux’s game-tying goal

The two power-play goals on Monday were important ones as well. Farabee scored to tie the game late in the second period after a collapse, and Giroux scored to tie it in the third period.

The Flyers need to piece it all together soon, and the power play is trending in the right direction.

3. Is this a must-win?

It was a hard-fought win on Monday night, and the Flyers need another win tonight given their upcoming schedule. They play two games on Long Island next, including tomorrow night against a rested Islanders team.

The Islanders will undoubtedly have a leg up tomorrow night with the Flyers in an uphill battle. The Rangers aren’t a good team and the Flyers need to earn at least another point tonight to close out the series.

The Flyers and Rangers are set for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop on Wednesday night.

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images