NHL: Philadelphia Flyers vs Florida Panthers Line Preview
Flyers occupy third place in Metro by four points, Cats lead Bruins by three points in Atlantic
It seems like every game is critical for one reason or another this time of year, with this hockey match-up being no exception. The Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-8, 72 points) head to the Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, to take on the Florida Panthers (43-16-4, 90 points) in a key Eastern Conference battle for both hockey teams.
Philly is just six points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second spot in the Metro but is also being tracked down by the New York Islanders, who trail both the Flyers and the wild card teams by four points. With a game in hand, the Panthers lead the Boston Bruins by three points with two head-to-head meetings left.
Oddsmakers have made the Panthers a massive -230 home favorite, with the total settling in at 6.5 (Over -115). Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on Bally Sports Florida and NBC Sports Philadelphia. We start our Flyers vs Panthers line preview with a deeper look at Philadelphia from a betting perspective.Â
Flyers vs Panthers 
Day/Time:
Location: Amerant Bank Arena, Sunrise, FL
Streaming: Bally Sports Florida/NBC Sports
Flyers Making Early Moves Ahead of Deadline
Wednesday, the Philadelphia Flyers sent defenseman Sean Walker (6G, 16A, 22 points) to the Colorado Avalanche for a first-round pick, making it the second significant deal the team has made in two days.
Tuesday, GM Daniel Briere sent Ivan Provorov (5G, 22A, 27 points) to the Columbus Blue as part of a three-way deal with the Jackets and the Los Angeles Kings.
By all accounts, this allows the Flyers to stay competitive this NHL season without compromising the promise that Briere made by saying that they’ll build for the future. The deal wasn’t a surprise, considering Provorov wasn’t excited about the word rebuild and now finds himself in an even bigger project in Columbus.
This is a smart move because the Flyers aren’t ready for a deep playoff run as is. We have them ranked 24th in our latest NHL power rankings. Philly has the league’s 13th toughest schedule coming up, starting with the top team in the Atlantic.
With +4.90 units won this season, the Flyers rank seventh but are just 13th over the last month with 0.87 units of profit. We predict that the Flyers will not be part of this year’s NHL playoff schedule unless they address their need for a top-six scorer, which doesn’t seem likely.Â
What The Flyers Need The Panthers Just GotÂ
The First massive name to move happened on Wednesday when the Florida Panthers general manager announced that they had acquired/rescued Vladimir Tarasenko (17G, 24 A, 41 points) from the Ottawa Senators for a conditional 2024 4th-round pick and 2025 3rd-round pick.
This deal is interesting on so many fronts. The first is how little the Panthers had to give up because the Senators were more interested in the salary dump. Second, it’s always intriguing when the Vegas Golden Knights are involved, and according to multiple reports, they were there at the finish line.
Third, this makes a team that is ranked as our number one team in our power even stronger. When betting on the Panthers, remember that it will take a few games for the Cats to be at full strength with hockey players adjusting to their new roles.
The more impactful the player, the more players will be impacted. Over the last month, only the Calgary Flames (+5.23 units) have produced more of a profit than the Panthers (+5.19 units).
Some Books Playing Waiting GameÂ
With the news of the trades made by both teams, Thursday’s game has been slow to be put on the betting board at some books, but not only will the Panthers be a massive favorite, but expect the number to go up because, as predictable as the sun coming up, bettors will be all over the team from the Sunshine State.
No matter how unpredictable it is to know how long it will take for both deals to make an impact, one thing is certain: both teams will be playing inspired hockey, and we think that bodes well for this game to go over the total as our official NHL prediction for Thursday. That does it for our Flyers vs. Panthers line preview; let the deadline games begin.
For NHL betting news, NHL odds analysis, and more, visit Point Spreads Sports Magazine.
