Flyers Playoff Odds Improve; Still Much Better than Penguins’ Chances

The breakneck pace of the NHL season has left little downtime and no time to breathe, especially in the jumbled and mushy middle of the Eastern Conference. No less than seven teams have a shot at the second wild card spot, including the Philadelphia Flyers.

There’s a discrepancy that bettors might want to note. MoneyPuck doesn’t like the Flyers’ chances to punch their ticket to Lord Stanley’s Ball; their math puts the Flyers at about a 15% chance. However, the NHL betting sites like the Flyers far more, putting them as one of the eight favorites at +350.

It might not be great, but at least it’s better than the Pittsburgh Penguins’ chances. MoneyPuck puts the Penguins at 5%, and bettors aren’t interested, either. The Penguins are going off at +750 to make the playoffs.

The mushy middle of the Eastern Conference presents both a stiff challenge to escape and a challenge to avoid temptation. It would be easy to become a buyer at the deadline to make the playoffs. After all, the wild card is right there for someone–anyone–to grab. However, general manager Daniel Briere has been resolute in his goal to rebuild the Flyers into a Stanley Cup contender and won’t sacrifice a part of the future for a quickie playoff berth. See also the Sean Walker trade.

In fact, Briere reiterated his path toward the NHL trade deadline earlier this week.

However, he strengthened this season’s Flyers outlook by essentially pulling Rasmus Ristolainen and Scott Laughton off the trade block.

“There are teams that have called to inquire, but Risto has been so good for us, and he’s not a rental. For us, there’s no rush to trade him,” Briere said. “I mean, we finally have him healthy. We finally have him playing extremely well. To find a right-shot D like that, and to play in your top four, to play as physically as he does–they’re tough to find.”

Of course, Briere could be upping the price because right-shot defensemen are increasingly difficult to find. Still, by keeping the 30-year-old defenseman, he’s also giving the Flyers a much better chance to make the playoffs, and who knows, in the mediocre Eastern Conference, any team can beat any team…except the Florida Panthers.

Currently, the Flyers are two points behind the struggling Ottawa Senators for the second wild-card spot, but Ottawa has one game in hand. Ottawa has been floundering since goalie Linus Ullmark suffered an upper-body injury. Even Brady Tkachuk has recently come under scrutiny as Ottawa is struggling to score.

The Flyers are also only three points behind the equally surprising Columbus Blue Jackets, who are having an emotional ride to a playoff berth. Following this summer’s tragedy in which an alleged drunk driver killed Johnny Gaudreau while he rode a bicycle on a country road, Columbus has rallied for a season that is exceeding all expectations.

Pittsburgh is not exceeding expectations, and the Flyers lead them by two points with one game in hand. The Flyers’ three-game winning streak has them firmly in the conversation for a playoff spot.

Of course, it might behoove Briere to address the goaltending issue before discussing the playoffs any further.