Hurricanes vs. Flyers Game 4 prediction: NHL picks, odds, best bets for Stanley Cup playoffs
It’s too harsh to call the Flyers frauds, but these three playoff games against the Hurricanes exposed a substantial deficit in depth and experience.The Flyers are simply flummoxed by the Hurricanes, who can sweep them on Saturday and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals with a perfect playoff record.We knew the Hurricanes would be a handful for these upstart Flyers at 5-on-5 after leading the regular season in puck possession (Corsi percentage) while Philadelphia ranked 26th.But in addition to that edge, special teams prowess has been the nail in the coffin. In their 4-1 Game 3 loss, Philadelphia fell victim to their own lack of discipline with 38 penalty minutes that gave the Hurricanes’ power play two scores on nine chances.
On the flip side, Carolina muted the Flyers on all five of their man advantages to improve their playoff penalty kill efficiency to 94.6 percent. They even scored a shorty. The Flyers are now 1-for-16 in the series and 3-for-33 in the playoffs. Oddsmakers are ignoring the notion that the fourth win is most elusive: the Hurricanes are juiced to a deluxe price tag of -192 at DraftKings to win Game 4. Beyond the palpable technical advantages in the series, this is business as usual for the Hurricanes.This is the sixth consecutive year Carolina has cracked the second round; many of the young Flyers are getting their first taste of playoff hockey. The Flyers were marked at 150/1 to win the Stanley Cup in the preseason, so win or lose this game, the season has been a positive step.Injuries have — quite literally — added insult to injury for Rick Tocchet’s group.
The omission of Owen Tippett and Noah Cates was detrimental to the Flyers’ secondary scoring.Tippett, the No.
5 scorer on the roster, is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, while Cates, No.6, is out for the remainder of the series with a lower-body injury. With or without them, we’ve seen the desperate version of these Flyers energized by a home crowd, and th...