Philadelphia got back within one goal against Minnesota, but it had already spent much of the game trying to recover from a 3–0 deficit. The Rangers just won by keeping St. Louis scoreless until the final minute. With our projections giving each team about 25 shots Thursday, the Flyers need to make more of their chances before the clock starts working against them again.
A rough start left Philadelphia little room
Minnesota scored twice in 31 seconds in its 4–2 win over the Flyers. The Wild’s third goal followed a Philadelphia clearing pass that hit a referee and turned into a two-on-one. Tyson Foerster and Denver Barkey, on the power play, brought the Flyers back within one before Minnesota’s empty-netter.
The bounce off the referee helped put Philadelphia in a difficult position, but the response showed the Flyers could still create enough offense to threaten. Our team projections have Philadelphia getting about three power plays against New York, with the shot counts even. A conversion while the game is level would give the Flyers a lead to defend and make the Rangers do the chasing.
New York found a lead worth protecting
Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, J.T. Miller added two assists and Dylan Garand made 32 saves in New York’s 3–1 win over St. Louis. The Blues missed on six power plays and scored only with 59 seconds left. The Rangers improved to 7–2 at home and ended a four-game losing streak.
At Thursday morning’s snapshot, DraftKings had New York at -155 and Philadelphia at +130. The Rangers’ home results give them something to build on, but the projected shots offer neither team an obvious volume advantage. New York needed Garand to handle plenty of work against St. Louis. Its latest win showed it could survive those chances, rather than simply prevent them.
Sharpest Bets Premium
Get our Flyers vs. Rangers picks.
Unlock our model's best bets for this matchup, plus projections, trends, and matchup analysis. Start with a free 7-day trial, then save 20% every month with code PREVIEW20.
A different goalie picture at 5.5
James Reimer and Dan Vladar are listed as possible starters for New York and Philadelphia, respectively, with neither confirmed. Vladar stopped 89.3% of shots across his last five appearances. Reimer’s available Rangers sample is one 20-minute appearance, giving us little to go on when assessing whether New York can get another performance like Garand’s.
Philadelphia’s last five games went over their respective totals. At Thursday’s 5.5, the way the Minnesota game reached six goals is useful context. A quick pair, an unusual deflection that created an odd-man rush, a power-play goal and an empty-net finish all mattered. New York’s game stayed at four despite six St. Louis power plays.
With modest shot counts projected, watch whether Philadelphia can turn its first good spell into a goal. An early lead would let the Flyers play with more patience. Another deficit could force them to take risks and open chances at both ends. That makes their start relevant to both the upset chance and how the scoring develops.
We break down every matchup
See current odds and model projections for the other games on the NHL betting board.
Odds and projections are snapshots and can change. Wagering involves risk.
More matchups to explore
Unlock our Premium picks. Free.
Get our sharpest picks, team grades, and projected score in your inbox.