With a big slate of games tonight, we go to the Metropolitan Division for two matchups in which teams have been showcasing talent as of late.
Philadelphia Flyers (+140) vs Nashville Predators (-165)
The Philadelphia Flyers have a lot of pieces to potentially sell before the deadline, and with teams already starting to make trades, they could follow suit. Claude Giroux will be the central focus tonight as he is playing his 1,000th game, all with the Flyers. The team will play hard for him, but they are still a team that has struggled mightily this season, especially in the second half, winning just five of their last 29 games.
This game shouldn’t be much different, as the Nashville Predators come into town having won two in a row and are 7-3 in their past 10 games. The Predators are in a dogfight for a spot in the top three in the Central Division with the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues, so every game is very important. They could even fall out of a playoff spot, as some teams from the Pacific Division are also right on their tail.
Take Nashville to win this one despite all that is going on in Philadelphia with their captain. Plus, consider the under (U6, -110) since both teams have good goaltenders and Juuse Saros seems to have found his game again.
New York Rangers (-145) vs New York Islanders (+120)
This is the battle of New York, but these teams are in different positions this season. The New York Rangers are in line to buy even more after already acquiring Frank Vatrano from the Florida Panthers, while the New York Islanders may look to sell but still may have the playoffs in mind.
Since Alexandar Georgiev has been getting some more starts of late to showcase his abilities before the trade deadline, the Rangers should go back to their starter Igor Shesterkin to try and stay ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins who are tied with them in points. This matchup looks to be a low-scoring event with two of the league’s best in net, so go with the Rangers at home and take the under (U5.5, -115) if you decide to go with the over/under in this one.
Odds via Yahoo and BetMGM.
