Philadelphia Flyers vs Colorado Avalanche - Odds and Predictions

Where: Pepsi Center – Denver, CO.

When: Wednesday, December 11, 9:30 PM EST

How (TV/Radio): NBC Sports | WFAN

Check out also, Stanley Cup Favorites 2020.

Philadelphia Flyers (Away)

Head Coach: Alain Vigneault{All-Time 665-443-35-103 PHI, NYR, VAN, MTL}

After going on a tear and climbing the rankings all the way up to eighth in the league, the Flyers now face their biggest adversity of the season. They are coming off of a 4-3 win over the Ottawa Senators but lost leading scorer Travis Konecny to injury in the process.

Offense

First and foremost, Philadelphia’s biggest advantage in this game comes down to puck possession. The Flyers have the league’s best faceoff percentage at 54.3 percent and start a majority of plays with control of the puck.

The Flyers also have the ninth-most even-strength goals scored this season, making them dangerous at all times.

Their power play sits around the middle of the pack with a 19.19 percent. Not the best, but not too far off from Colorado’s percentage of 19.42 percent either. Philly has 19 power-play goals this season – the 11th-most in the NHL.

Philadelphia also manages to put more pucks on the net than the Avalanche and should be able to pepper a returning Philipp Grubauer. This translates, however, into only a 9.5 shooting percentage this season.

Defense

This season, Philadelphia has been the superior defensive team between these two clubs. They have allowed the eighth-fewest shots against this season and the sixth-fewest goals against.

The Flyers also take few penalties and the ones they do take they kill exceptionally well. With a penalty-killing percentage of 85.90 percent, the Flyers have the third-best defensive special teams in the league. They even have two short-handed goals.

Philadelphia has a combined save percentage of .910 – putting them just outside the league’s top-ten at 11th.

Goaltending

Young star Carter Hart is expected to be between the pipes for the Flyers against Colorado. Hart has put together a season record of 10-5-3 with a goals-against-average of 2.39 and a .909 save percentage. He has one shutout so far this season.

Head Coach: Jared Bednar{All-Time 122-124-30 COL}

Like the Flyers, Colorado is not without their own injury woes. After regaining star forwards Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog, defenseman Cale Makar went down and is listed as day-to-day.

This should be a tight game as these two teams head into the matchup with almost everything in common.

Offense

What can be said about Colorado’s offense that hasn’t already been said? When they are healthy, they are dangerous. Unbelievably dangerous.

This team has scored 97 goals this season (the third-most in the NHL) and that’s while spending a good chunk of their season without Mikko Rantanen or Gabriel Landeskog. Nathan MacKinnon is the league’s third-best scorer with 45 points.

The Avs are also tied for the league’s best shooting percentage with the Washington Capitals. The Avalanche currently sit with an 11.6 shooting percentage. They make their shots count.

As mentioned before, though, they will struggle for puck possession. The Avalanche’s face off percentage ranks third-worst in the NHL at 47.2 percent.

Defense

Play in Colorado’s own end won’t be easy, however, defenseman Cale Makar may not even be on the ice, for starters.

Secondly, the Avalanche take a lot of penalties, averaging almost ten minutes per game. Not only that, but they struggle to kill them off. Colorado has the 12th worst penalty-killing unit, managing only a 78.41 percent.

This Colorado team has also allowed four short-handed goals this season. So they are at risk even when on the power play.

They do have a better combined save percentage than Philadelphia though, boasting the league’s eighth-best percentage at .910.

Goaltending

Although he has been battling hamstring issues and is still listed as day-to-day, goaltender Philipp Grubauer is expected to start Wednesday night for the Avs. Grubauer has a season record of 10-5-2, a goals-against-average of 2.76, and a .914 save percentage.

These teams last face-off earlier in the season on October 22. The Colorado Avalanche came out victorious in the matchup with a final score of 4-1 over the Flyers.

What’s at Stake?

This is a make-or-break game for the Philadelphia Flyers. This is a chance to show the league that they are a deep team capable of beating any team despite Konecny not being on the ice. Should they get dominated, and especially shutout, questions will arise as to how much this team’s success is reliant on just one or two key players. For the Avs, this is a chance to rack up two points and reestablish their now healthy first line as the most dangerous line in the NHL.

Which team’s injuries will play a bigger role? Can the Flyers continue to muster up some offense without their leading scorer? And will Colorado’s best defenseman be on the ice come game time?

Which goaltender is expected to shine? Both have very similar statistics this season but Avs’ goalie Philipp Grubauer is coming back after injury. Is it too soon?

Colorado has played much better at home this season (8-3-2) than the Flyers have played on the road (7-6-1). Will this trend continue into Wednesday night?

Philadelphia Flyers Injury Report

F Micahel Raffl – DL (finger)

D Samuel Morin – DL (knee)

D Philippe Myers – OUT (back)

F Travis Konecny – OUT (concussion)

F Nolan Patrick – DL (head)

Colorado Avalanche Injury Report

F Colin Wilson – DL (lower-body)

D Erik Johnson – DL (lower-body)

F Nazem Kadri – day-to-day (lower-body)

G Philipp Grubauer – day-to-day (hamstring)

D Cale Makar – day-to-day (upper-body)

Philadelphia Flyers vs Colorado Avalanche Odds

The odds for this game are provided by bet365 NJ, Caesars NJ, and 888Sport NJ.

Good luck!

Money Line