Flyers vs Devils Picks – Goaltending Again The Difference Between Flyers And Devils
The Philadelphia Flyers needed all 82 games to qualify for the playoffs and now they’ll have at least four more to prove that they deserved it. The truth of the matter is that they have too many injuries to deal with to seriously compete in a seven-game series against the second-best team in the East.
The Story
The Flyers have owned the Devils in the regular season this year, going 5-1, but their playoff history is a more telling sign for online betting cappers. The Devils are 2-1 against the Flyers in their last three meetings and the typical showdown has always been the Devils defense and goaltending versus the Flyers offense.
This year will be no different but the Flyers, who are without their top two netminders, Ray Emery and Michael Leighton, will still have the edge on offense but their blue line and goaltending is again suspect.
Who Has The Edge On Offense: Flyers Or Devils?
The sportsbook edge on offense is close, but has to go to the Flyers. The Flyers don’t have the elite scorers that the Devils do but they have the depth with six scorers with 40 points or more.
Meanwhile, the Devils have a couple of top guns on two separate lines that will have to shine. Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk finished with 80+ points, which is at least 20 more than the top Flyer had this season. They have to lead the offense and neither can afford to disappear in the series, as some of the Devils top guns have done in the past.
This is a close matchup, but the Flyers get the slight edge.
Edge: FlyersWho Has The Edge On Defense/Goaltending: Flyers Or Devils?
Surprise, surprise, but the Devils won the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed this season (191). They’ll need to shape up against the Flyers, though.
Goalie Martin Brodeur posted a 3.34 goals against average against the Flyers this year with a 1-4-1 record. That won’t cut it in the playoffs and if the Devils don’t have the edge in net, they may not win this series.
On the blue line, the Flyers have the top defenseman overall in Chris Pronger and the better overall unit. Even so, the Devils team defense concept is hard to argue with.
Edge: DevilsWho Has The Edge In Experience?
NHL betting fans know that both teams are experienced and the goalie matchup between Brian Boucher and Brodeur is a 10-year reunion of their 2000 conference finals.
The Flyers have some veterans like Pronger and Gagne, who have been there before, while the Devils have a similar roster that goes a couple of rounds in the playoffs each year.
Both coaches – Peter Laviolette and Jacques Lemaire – are very experienced as well. This is pretty much even the entire way.
Edge: EvenWho Will Win The Flyers vs Devils Series?
This is a series that could go either way so sports betting cappers should be careful laying a lot of juice either way. The Flyers are the lower seed and they should lose because of their goaltending weakness, but they did own the regular season series by winning five of six games.
Even so, the playoffs will be a different story as the Devils will score enough to win in six games.
