Flyers vs. Rangers: Projected lines, odds & trends, and what to watch for

The Philadelphia Flyers need to turn things around sometime. Why not tonight? They host the New York Rangers for the first of a two-game set at home.

Chuck Fletcher being ‘much more aggressive’ to ‘get the right mix’ to fix Flyers

Five telling quotes from Chuck Fletcher’s midseason press conference

The Flyers have lost three straight games for the first time this season. The Rangers, on the other hand, have won two straight and three of their last four, starting with their 9-0 win over the Flyers.

Projected lines and pairs

Flyers forward lines

Alain Vigneault is sticking with the same healthy forward group but has mixed up the lines.

James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny
Claude Giroux – Kevin Hayes – Joel Farabee
Oskar Lindblom – Nolan Patrick – Jakub Voracek
Michael Raffl – Scott Laughton – Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Flyers defensive pairs

Samuel Morin will likely enter the lineup for Erik Gustafsson tonight.

Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim – Philippe Myers
Samuel Morin – Shayne Gostisbehere

.

Flyers starting goalie

Carter Hart is back in net for his second straight start.

Carter Hart
Brian Elliott

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 +110 underdogs against the Rangers (-130). The total is set at 6.5 goals.

Get In The Game With Online Sports Betting

Rangers trends

• Rangers are 4-0 in their last 4 games as a favorite.
• Rangers are 4-0 in their last 4 vs. a team with a losing record.
• Rangers are 5-11 in their last 16 games following a win.

Flyers trends

• Flyers are 1-4 in their last 5 overall.
• Flyers are 1-9 in their last 10 games as an underdog.
• Flyers are 0-4 in their last 4 in the fourth game of a 4-in-6 situation.
• Flyers are 5-2 in their last 7 vs. a team with a losing record.

Head-to-head trends

• Rangers are 3-11 in the last 14 meetings.
• Rangers are 2-6 in the last 8 meetings in Philadelphia.
• Favorite is 12-4 in the last 16 meetings.

What to watch for

1. Morin back on defense

Samuel Morin, in all likelihood, will return to the lineup tonight. He transitioned to the forward position in training camp but will be back on defense tonight.

Morin hasn’t panned out as a prospect, but there’s still a chance for him to show that he can be a solid bottom-pair defenseman. He’ll get a crack at that tonight.

2. Is it already too late?

The Flyers couldn’t pull it out against the Islanders and fell flat against the Devils the next night. The Flyers have now lost three games in a row.

Tuesday night was the first of five straight winnable games for the Flyers. They now have two against the Rangers and two against the Sabres. Winning three of the next four is an absolute must if the Flyers want any chance of making the playoffs. If not, it may already be too late.

3. A chance for redemption

The Flyers got absolutely embarrassed in their last game against the Rangers. They gave up seven goals in the second period en route to a 9-0 loss. It was their worst loss in quite some time and they haven’t really recovered from it yet.

This two-game set gives the Flyers a chance to bounce back and they should have some revenge on their mind.

The Flyers and Rangers are set for a 7:00 p.m. puck drop on Thursday night.

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images