Philly out of postseason race by two points, Rangers eye Metro crown
NHL: Philadelphia Flyers vs New York Rangers Betting Preview
The Philadelphia Flyers (36-32-11, 83 points) head to the ‘Big Apple’ to face the New York Rangers (53-22-4, 110 points), with the light of a postseason birth becoming fainter by the day for Philly with three games to play for both NHL teams.
The Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division by three points over the Carolina Hurricanes with three winnable games on the schedule for both teams. Oddsmakers have opened the Rangers -210 with a total of six.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT and can be seen on NBC Sports Philadelphia and the Madison Square Garden Network. Let’s get to our Flyers vs Rangers betting preview.
Flyers vs Rangers 
Day/Time:
Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
Streaming: NBC Sports Philadelphia/Madison Square Garden Network
Tortorella Confirms Commitment To Flyers
Hockey rumors are a dime a dozen, with the latest involving coach John Tortorella and his intentions moving forward.
The Flyers have lost eight straight games and 20 of their last 27 and are not going to make the postseason after a terrific start, leading to the rumors. The truth is that the veteran coach got everything he could have out of a team that was coming off a 75-point season and one that lost its starting goaltender, Carter Hart, after running into serious legal troubles.
This team will finish in the bottom third in scoring and goals allowed, running out of steam after starting the season 29-19-6 before a 7-13-7 slide. The most important column is the last because if the Flyers could have had more than half of those overtime games go their way, they have been in the postseason.
Tortorella has confirmed that he’ll be back next season after losing to the Montreal Canadiens 9-3 on Tuesday. Ultimately, Philadelphia is the perfect town for Torts and we would be shocked if the Flyers were not in the postseason next year.
Rangers Look To Bounce Back After Loss
Right now, we think the New York Rangers are on a collision course for the NHL Stanley Cup Final, according to our latest power ratings, and should be plenty focused after a surprising 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders Tuesday.
We’ll give them a pass, considering it was on the road against a team that needed a win just a little more. Despite the Islanders winning five straight, we don’t think they have much chance to make noise in the postseason.
The Rangers have other concerns than that loss after Mika Zibanejad was left on the ice in obvious pain after taking an elbow to the head by Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech.
The Rangers star did return to the bench late in the hockey game but didn’t take another shift, something to keep in mind when we go to the window tonight.
Moneyline Too Big For Our Bankroll
The Rangers are the better team here but we refuse to lay more than -200, especially when the status of Zibanejad is cloudy. We’re turning our attention to the total where the under will be our official play.
The Flyers have been an under team for most of the NHL season and we think we’ll see the number move in our direction after Philly allowed nine goals at Montreal. Remember to forget what you just saw if you want to find success in wagering.
Bettors will figure that New York has the potential to do the same damage after cashing six straight overs and 13 of their last 14, but this is a trap because if there ever was a time for a 6.5 to be posted, it’s here, and the oddsmakers aren’t giving us that.
We avoid the trap and jump on the under in what should be one of the more entertaining NHL hockey scores to monitor tonight. That concludes our Flyers vs Rangers betting preview, we wish you all the best with your hockey picks and parlays tonight.
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