Last night the Coyotes pulled off a big upset of the Predators to advance to the Conference Finals in the Western Conference. The Coyotes were the least likely team to advance to the Conference Finals in the West, followed by the LA Kings, but both teams are sitting there with an opportunity to battle for a Stanley Cup appearance. The Flyers chance to battle for a Cup spot are on the line tonight as they head back home to host the Devils in game 5 of the Eastern Conference second round series. The Devils are up 3-1 and have the momentum in this series after winning the last 3 games. My NHL playoff record sits at (22-23) for +0.97 units.
New Jersey Devils @ Philadelphia Flyers
As I’m sure you have all heard Claude Giroux will not be in the lineup for the Flyers tonight because he has been suspended 1 game for his hit on Dainus Zubrus. I was shocked when I heard Giroux was suspended, especially after other stars (Weber and Ovechkin) got away with what I feel were much worse acts on the ice. The loss of Giroux will likely result in the end of the Flyers season because he is the player they look to for generating offense and was in on both goals in game 4 of the series. Danny Briere will have to continue to put the puck in the net and other players such as Jagr, Hartnell, Simmonds, Schenn, etc will have to step up in G’s absence. The Flyers were not exceptional at home this season, with the Devils road record actually being better than the Flyers home record. The Devils have the momentum and the Flyers are without Giroux, which leads me to believe this series won’t get past 5 games.
Play: Devils +115 (SportsInteraction.com)
**Canadians are entitled to a free $20 bet on this game if you sign up for a new account at Sports Interaction. Full details can be found here.
Written by: Niko de Jonge
Tagged with: New Jersey Devils betting • Philadelphia Flyers betting