The Pittsburgh Penguins have a chance to close out the Philadelphia Flyers tonight, April 23, at home in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pens lead the Flyers 3-1 in the best of seven series and the Flyers are 0-5 in Pitt. NHL oddsmakers at Bodog.com have the Penguins as -200 moneyline favs over the Flyers with the over/under listed at 5.5 goals. Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers Predictions in now at Bodog.com
The Flyers just can’t find a way to beat the Pens, no matter how many shots they shoot, how hard they hit and how many chances they get to score. They are 0-5 when playing in Pittsburgh in their last two seasons. "I don't think any of us would deny it's a big road in front of you now, a big hill to climb, being down 3-1," the Flyers' Mike Knuble said Wednesday. Especially when the Flyers, who led Pittsburgh in the standings nearly all season, didn't expect to be on the verge of elimination in a Game 5 against Pittsburgh for the second successive spring. They lost Game 5 there 6-0 during the Eastern Conference finals last season, but no one among these Flyers expects a similar letdown this year. The Flyers went 0 for 6 on the power play and managed only one goal on 46 shots. Still the Flyers have improved every game and they still think they could get a rare win in Pitt. But there’s a trend that they might not want to hear about. Of the 229 teams that trailed an NHL playoff series 3-1, only 20 recovered to win. The last to do so was Montreal against Boston in 2004. Goalie Martin Biron needs to be on his game, he’s currently 1-3 with a 2.81 GAA. Simon Gagne leads the Flyers with three goals and Braydon Coburn leads with three assists. These are their top two producers. NOT GOOD!
The Penguins are rolling along, as they should be, and they’ll want to knock out the Flyers tonight and get plenty of well deserved rest. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has been solid in net taking a barrage of shots, he took 45 shots in Game 5; he’s currently 3-1 with a 2.09 GAA. "He was there making the big saves when we had breakdowns," Bylsma said. "He had a couple of big glove saves there when they had guys in the slot. … That was a game our goaltender won for us." They must be more disciplined and not take penalties, they gave up six in Game 5 but the Flyers failed to take advantage. "We want to finish it off," Crosby said. "As desperate as they are, we want to make sure that our intensity level is there and we play with the same amount (as the Flyers) if not more. Certainly we have to play with desperation, too. … It takes four games and we've got three and it doesn't get any easier." Evgeni Malkin is their top scorer with four goals 7pts and Sidney Crosby has two goals 6pts. The Pens have four players with two or more goals.
Recent Trends to Consider:
- Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings.
- Under is 4-1 in the last 5 meetings in Pittsburgh.
- Home team is 17-5 in the last 22 meetings.
- Favorite is 22-7 in the last 29 meetings.
- Flyers are 5-14 in the last 19 meetings.
- Flyers are 2-15 in the last 17 meetings in Pittsburgh.
2009 NHL Playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers
When: Thurs, April 23, 2009 7:00 PM ET
Line: Bodog.com
Pick: Pens -200
Point-Spreads.com 2009 NHL Playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers
The Bottom Line: The Flyers can’t score on Fleury, while the Pens can on Biron. Go Pens! Be sure to get your 2009 NHL Playoffs Pittsburgh Penguins vs Philadelphia Flyers Predictions in now at Bodog.com and receive a 10% sign-up bonus on your initial deposit
