Philadelphia Flyers at Florida Panthers NHL Picks & Predictions 12/28/2017

Thursday, December 28, 2017

BB&T Center

Get todays NHL hockey odds on this game.

The Philadelphia Flyers travel to BB&T Center to play the Florida Panthers on Thursday, December 28, 2017. The opening line for this game has the Flyers at +113 and the Panthers at -125.

Philadelphia has a record of 15-13-8 this season and on the road they have a record of 7-6-4-2. They are 8th in the Metropolitan Division. They've scored 99 goals and given up 103 goals for a point differential of -4. For the season they have an ATS record of 15-21-0 and an over/under record of 18-16-0. Florida has a record of 15-16-5 including 8-6-3-2 at home this season. They are 5th in the Atlantic Division. They've scored 103 goals and surrendered 119 for a goal differential of -16. Their record against the spread is 15-21-0 while their over/under record is 18-18-0.

Valuable Philadelphia Flyers Betting Trends

The Philadelphia Flyers are 15-21-0 straight up this year

The Philadelphia Flyers are 18-16-0 against the over/under this season

Important Florida Panthers Betting Trends

The Florida Panthers are 15-21-0 straight up this year

The Florida Panthers are 18-18-0 against the over/under this season

Key Philadelphia Flyers Injuries

12/26/17 GO Michal Neuvirth Lower Body is upgraded to available Thursday vs Florida
12/06/17 D Brandon Manning Upper Body IR (12/05)
11/06/17 RW Colin McDonald Lower Body IR (10/03)
10/15/17 GO Anthony Stolarz Knee IR (10/03)

Key Florida Panthers Injuries

12/26/17 D Ian McCoshen Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
12/26/17 C Vincent Trocheck Ribs injured last game, is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
12/23/17 LW Jamie McGinn Upper Body is "?" Thursday vs Philadelphia
12/13/17 GO Roberto Luongo Lower Body IR (12/04)

Player Spotlight

Brian Elliott has 13 wins and 8 losses this season in net for the Flyers. He has 877 shots against him and he's given up 74 goals. He's made 803 saves for a save percentage of 92%. Claude Giroux has accumulated 42 total points this season for the Flyers. He has 13 goals this year with 71 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 18%. He has a total of 29 assists on the season and averages 20.3 minutes played per game. Jakub Voracek averages 19.6 minutes of ice time per game this year. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 7% by scoring 8 goals on 123 shots. He has 36 assists, giving him a total of 44 points on the season.

Player Spotlight

Vincent Trocheck has scored 35 total points this year for the Panthers. He has 14 goals this season with 117 shots on goal, giving him a shooting percentage of 12%. He has a total of 21 assists on the season and averages 21.5 minutes played per game. James Reimer has 9 wins and 9 losses this year in goal for the Panthers. He has 715 shots against him and he's surrendered 66 goals. He's made 649 saves for a save percentage of 91%. Jonathan Huberdeau averages 20.1 minutes of ice time per game. In that time he has a shooting percentage of 13% by scoring 12 goals on 96 shots. He has 23 assists, giving him a total of 35 points on the season.

Useful Team Statistics

The Flyers have allowed 114 power play opportunities and have given up 27 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 76% this year. That is 29th in the NHL. They average 32 shots per game and as a team shoot 8.59% for the season. They allow 31 shots to their opposition per contest and have a team save percentage of 91%, which is ranked 13th in the league. The Flyers has 38 total points this season, ranking 22nd in the NHL in offense. They are 24th in the league with 99 goals while they've given up 103 goals, which is 22nd overall. They have had 123 power play opportunities and scored 24 goals on those chances for a percentage of 20%. That is 15th in the NHL.

Useful Team Statistics

As a team, the Panthers are 18th with 103 goals scored while they are 5th in the NHL with 119 goals allowed this year. They average 34 shots per contest and have a team shooting percentage of 8.32%. They give up 35 shots per game and have a save percentage of 91%, putting them in 17th place in the league. The Panthers have a total of 35 points this year, which is 26th in the NHL. They have 19 power play goals on 113 opportunities for a percentage of 17%. That ranks their power play unit 23rd. They've allowed 118 power play opportunities and have given up 23 goals on those chances for a penalty kill percentage of 81%, which is 17th overall.

Advanced Statistics

Philadelphia has a Corsi percentage of 50.1% as they've tried 2,088 shots on goal while at full strength while they have surrendered 2,076 shots on net when they have a full team on the ice. That ranks them 16th in Corsi percentage. They are 16th in the NHL in Fenwick percentage with 50.2% as they have 1,557 shots while they've given up 1,544 attempts on defense. The Flyers start possessions in the offensive zone 50.2% of the time while their defensive zone percentage is at 49.8% for the year. That puts them 19th and 13th in the league in zone percentages respectively. They have 1,159 face-off wins as opposed to 1,034 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 52.8%. That is 3rd overall in the NHL. On defense Philadelphia has 735 hits and they've blocked 532 attempts from opposing offenses, which is 18th in the league.

Advanced Statistics

The Panthers are 29th in the league in starting possessions in the offensive zone, doing so 46.3% of the time. Their defensive zone percentage is at 53.7% for the season, which is 2nd in the NHL. They have 1,185 face-off wins compared to 1,140 losses, meaning their face-off win percentage is 51%. That is 11th in the league. On defense Florida has 722 hits and they have blocked 512 shots from the opposition, which is 23rd in the league. Florida is 17th in the NHL in Corsi percentage with 48.9% as they've attempted 2,113 shots on net at full strength while they've given up 2,206 shots on net in the same situations. Their Fenwick percentage of 49.5% ranks 15th as they have 1,659 attempts while they have given up 1,694 shots on the defensive end.

Who will win tonight's Flyers/Panthers NHL game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take Florida -125

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald