The Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Columbus Blue Jackets to Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday night. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM ET. This is the fourth meeting of the season between these Metropolitan Division teams.
Columbus won the most recent game 3-2 in a shootout on January 14. The Blue Jackets are still chasing a playoff spot with two games left. Philadelphia is out of the race but has earned points in six of their last seven games.
Flyers Preview – Playing for Pride to Close the Season
Philadelphia has a 33-47-7-3 record and sits last in the division. At home, they are 20-19-1 this season. The Flyers are 5-1-1 in their last seven games since Brad Shaw took over as interim coach.
Travis Konecny leads the team with 75 points, including 24 goals and 51 assists. Matvei Michkov and Tyson Foerster also have 24 goals each. Owen Tippett, Bobby Brink, and Sean Couturier round out the forward group, which has shown more life late in the season.
The Flyers allow 3.44 goals per game and have struggled with depth on defense due to injuries. Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan Ellis are both out for the year. The blue line features younger players like Cam York, Egor Zamula, and Jamie Drysdale. Samuel Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov have split recent starts in goal.
Blue Jackets Preview – Still Chasing a Wild Card Spot
Columbus enters this game with a 38-42-8-1 record. They are 13-23-4 on the road but have gone 4-1 in their last five overall. The Blue Jackets are three points out of the final playoff spot and need to keep winning to stay alive.
Zach Werenski leads the team in assists (56) and points (78). Adam Fantilli has scored four goals in his last two games and is one of the team’s top young forwards. Kirill Marchenko leads the team with 31 goals, and Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, and Sean Monahan bring experience down the middle.
Jet Greaves has taken over the net in recent games and has stopped 90 of his last 93 shots. Elvis Merzlikins is day-to-day, and Daniil Tarasov has been inconsistent. The Blue Jackets average 3.23 goals per game and are converting at 19.1% on the power play. Their defense is allowing 3.23 goals per game but has improved during their recent winning stretch.
Betting Prediction
The Blue Jackets are -125 on the moneyline, with the Flyers listed at +105. The total is set at 6.0 goals. Columbus has won two of the three meetings this season, including the last one in a shootout.
Columbus is the more motivated team with a playoff chance on the line. Philadelphia has played hard recently but may not match the Blue Jackets’ urgency. The predicted final score is Columbus 4, Philadelphia 2. The Blue Jackets should win and cover the puck line at -1.5.
Pick: Columbus Blue Jackets -1.5 over Philadelphia Flyers
This should be a pretty fun game in the National Hockey League. But, when push comes to shove, Columbus wins this one over Philadelphia. Enjoy the game and best of luck!
