The second seeded Philadelphia Flyers host the seventh-seeded Buffalo Sabres tonight, Thursday April 14th, in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers have split their last ten meetings with the Sabres. NHL oddsmakers have the Flyers as -160 moneyline favourites over the Sabres (+140) with the over/under set at 5.5 goals. Be sure to check the Sabres vs Flyers NHL Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
Buffalo (22-13-6 V) enters the playoffs winning eight of their last ten and winners of three of their last five road games. Buffalo had the league's ninth-best offense this year with an average of 2.93 goals per game and the Sabres had four players — Thomas Vanek, Drew Stafford, Jason Pominville and Tyler Ennis — with 20 or more goals. Vanek is the club's top offensive weapon and he led the Sabres in both goals (32) and assists (41). After Vanek's 73 points, however, there is quite the drop-off to Buffalo's next-best scorers, Stafford and Pominville, who each had 52 points in 2010-11. Stafford did post personal bests in both goals (31) and points, but Pominville had his lowest point total since he had 30 as a rookie in 2005-06. Buffalo's defense is led by last year's Calder Trophy winner Tyler Myers, who shrugged off a slow start to his sophomore campaign to lead Sabres blueliners in points with 37. Myers had 10 goals to finish second among Buffalo's defenseman in markers. Jordan Leopold paced the club with a career-best 13 goals, but he broke his left hand on March 25 and his status for this series is doubtful.
Philadelphia (22-12-7 H) start of losing seven of their last ten games and losing four of their last five on home ice. Philadelphia posted a 7-8-6 record over the last 21 games and nearly lost the Atlantic Division title to Pittsburgh. The Flyers are not to worried about the end of the regular season, but they should be concerned about the situation in net and the health of top defenseman Chris Pronger. First, Philadelphia enters this series with Sergei Bobrovsky as the No. 1 option in net and it's anybody's guess how the 22-year-old rookie will handle the pressure of the NHL playoffs. Overall, Bobrovsky had an up-and-down first year in North America. Like the Flyers, he started out strong, but struggled down the stretch. He was 28-13-8 with a 2.59 goals-against average in 54 games, but just seven of his victories came after January. The status of Pronger, who spends a great deal of time clearing the crease for his goaltender, will miss Game 1 and his status is up in the air for the rest of the series as well. had five defensemen that skated in 81-plus contests in 2010-11. Among those players, Matt Carle, Kimmo Timonen and Andrej Meszaros all had 30 or more points and Carle led the way with one goal and 39 assists. Sean O'Donnell and Braydon Coburn played in 81 and 82 games, respectively, and both bring size and toughness to the blue line. However, Philadelphia's scoring depth up front is the team's biggest strength. The Flyers boast six players with 20 or more goals this season, and Ville Leino almost made it seven with his 19-goal campaign. Also, Kris Versteeg had 21 goals this year, but 14 of them came before he was traded by Toronto to the Flyers in February.
Recent Trends to Consider:
Over is 12-3-1 in the last 16 meetings in Philadelphia.
Favorite is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
Over is 19-6-1 in the last 26 meetings.
Sabres are 5-2 in the last 7 meetings.
Flyers are 7-1 in their last 8 playoff games as a favorite.
Flyers are 4-1 in their last 5 Conference Quarterfinals games.
Flyers are 11-5 in their last 16 games as a home favorite of -151 to -200.
Sabres vs Flyers
When: Thursday, April 14, 7:30 PM ET
Pick: Flyers -160
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check out NHL Point Spreads before Sabres vs Flyers game.
The Bottom Line: The Flyers without Pronger, is not good, I think the Sabres could upset since they are winning. Be sure to check Sabres vs Flyers Hockey Point Spreads and get your predictions in early.
