The New York Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers meet in NHL action from the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
The New York Rangers will look to build on their 3-0 win over the San Jose Sharks last time out. Adam Fox leads the Rangers in scoring with 37 points including a team-high 32 assists while Artemi Panarin is right there with 36 points including 10 goals and 26 assists. Chris Kreider has 34 points with a team-high 23 goals and 12 power play goals while Mika Zibanejad also has 34 points with 13 goals and 21 assists. Igor Shesterkin’s seen the majority of New York’s action in goal, going 16-4-2 with a 1.99 GAA and a .939 save percentage this season, while Alexandar Georgiev has gone 7-5-2 with a 2.71 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
The Philadelphia Flyers will try to bounce back from a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins last time out. Claude Giroux leads the Flyers in scoring with 11 goals and a team-high 18 assists as part of his 29-point tally this season. Cam Atkinson has a team-high 15 goals of his own with a team-high +10 plus/minus and Joel Farabee has 11 goals of his own this season. Carter Hart’s gone 7-11-4 with a 2.93 GAA and a .912 save percentage in goal for the Flyers while Martin Jones has gone 6-5-2 with a 3.33 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season.
New York is 5-2 in their last 7games overall and 35-17 in their last 52 games against a team with a losing record while the under is 20-6 in their last 26 games as a road favorite. Philadelphia is 2-7 in their last 9 home games and 5-17 in their last 22 games as a home underdog while the over is 8-1 in their last 9 home games.
I get the allure of plus money with a home dog in certain spots, but I really don’t want any part of the Flyers, as Philly looks like a team that’s going to be major sellers at the trade deadline. New York’s been playing some of the best road hockey in the NHL this season and I just don’t want to step in front of that with a reasonable price attached. Give me the Rangers here.