NHL Free Pick: Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Hockey betting fans sure are getting their money’s worth from the free nhl picks we give out here at Capperspicks.com.
Team records:
Toronto: 15-19-9
Philadelphia: 19-19-3
Tonight, 7:00 p.m. ET
Sportsbook odds: Maple Leafs +155, Flyers -175
Desperate to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Leafs and Flyers both likely view tonight as a must-win at this juncture of the season. Including last night’s victory over Florida, Toronto plays a whopping four games in five nights this week, so that stretch could make or break its season.
After surprising opponents with (a) a run-and-gun style and (b) horrible defense in the early months of the season, the Leafs are settling into what everyone thought they’d be at the start of the year; a plucky defensive team that can’t score.
Toronto hasn’t allowed more than three goals in its last eight games, largely thanks to improved play from Luke Schenn, Francois Beauchemin and Tomas Kaberle. The biggest influence has been Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson. The big Swedish netminder is breaking out. He posted a 1.86 goals against average and .928 save percentage in December and has 2.02/.938 marks so far in January.
Were the Flyers just teasing us with their four-game winning streak to end 2009? They’ve opened 2010 with two losses, the latest of which was a 7-4 embarrassment versus Ottawa. They looked sluggish at both ends of the ice and the top line of Mike Richards, Simon Gagne and Claude Giroux was a combined -15.
We can possibly chalk the mini-slump up to a lengthy, six-game road trip. The Flyers haven’t played a home game since December 21 and should be thrilled to finally host a contest tonight. Also, since they haven’t played since Sunday whereas the Leafs played last night, Philly is the fresher team.
Bet on the rested Flyers to bust out tonight and beat Toronto down.
NHL Betting Trends:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Toronto’s last 8 games
Toronto is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone OVER in 8 of Toronto’s last 12 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Toronto’s last 9 games when playing Philadelphia
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 5 games at home
Philadelphia is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Philadelphia’s last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Philadelphia’s last 9 games when playing Toronto
Pick: Flyers -175
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Shea Matthews lives and breathes sports. He made the transition from athlete to sports journalist at a young age, writing in TV & national newspapers. He now applies his knowledge to sports betting and handicapping every day, and shares his winning picks with the world.
One reply on “NHL Picks: Maple Leafs vs. Flyers (Jan 6)”
Flyers should play a bit more inspired in front of the home town crowd, plus Toronto has stuggled on the road this year with a 7-11-4 record vs. a .500 record at home.