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Philadelphia vs. Columbus: NHL Match Prediction
Philadelphia and Columbus will play in Pennsylvania on December 22. Both teams continue to fight for a place in the playoff zone, but are currently at the bottom of the conference table. The Flyers have lost three games in a row, while the Jackets have only recently managed to break their losing streak. A little over a week ago, the teams met in Ohio, and then the Flyers achieved a confident victory. What will this meeting be like? Read our prediction for it
Command Analysis
Philadelphia Flyers
USACurrent form
Philadelphia is currently in tenth place in the Eastern Conference and has earned a total of 32 points. The team has really “turned on” over the past month and has started to score points much more often than before. Let us recall that they were able to deal with Columbus (5:3) and Detroit (4:1) recently, and after losing to Minnesota (1:4), they met the Wings away again, but this time they lost to them in a tough fight (4:5). In the last match, the hosts were routed by Los Angeles (3:7). They were leading at the end of the second period, but collapsed in the final 20 minutes and conceded five goals in a row.
True, the "pilots" have been performing rather mediocre away from home this season, as they currently have only a couple of victories in regulation time. It is also worth mentioning that the team weak point is its defense, which usually allows the opponent to score at least three or four goals, especially when playing away from home. This is largely why it cannot secure a place in the playoff zone.
As a rule, John Tortorella team plays the opening twenty minutes at a good level and even often opens the scoring first, but the second period is mediocre for them. So, now Philadelphia has a ratio of 29:48 in the second period in goals scored and goals conceded.
Disqualifications and injuries
Ryan Ellis will not play in the next match.
Interesting trends for betting
- Philadelphia gets 8.82 penalty minutes
Typically a team is sent off at least four or five times per match.
- Philadelphia has an 80% power play neutralization rate
According to this indicator, the club currently occupies 14th place in the league.
Columbus Blue Jackets
USACurrent form
Columbus is 12th in the conference standings and is five points away from the top eight in the East. The Ohio State team has 31 points after 33 games. The Blue Jackets have not looked their best in December and have won only three times at the beginning of winter. Not long ago, the Jackets broke a five-game losing streak. In their last away trip, they lost to Carolina (1:4) and Columbus (3:5), and after returning home, they confidently dealt with New Jersey (4:2). The Devils were unable to score for 40 minutes of the game and scored two accurate shots in the final minutes of the match, but were unable to recover.
In the second half of December, the "jackets" have been conceding a lot. In three out of four games, the visitors have conceded at least three goals. Since December 15, the "blue jackets" have conceded 14 goals, while Elvis Merzlikin has not demonstrated reliability in the last line. The goalie has reflected only 89.15% of shots and has only one shutout this season.
Dean Evason men haven't been playing very well on offense lately. They're averaging 3.27 goals per game this season, and the visitors are looking pretty lackluster at this stage of the season. Kirill Marchenko has overtaken Zach Werenski in points scored. The Russian has 33 points (11+22).
Disqualifications and injuries
Egor Chinakhov, Dante Fabbro, Erik Gudbranson and Boone Jenner are all out with injuries. Justin Dunford has yet to confirm his status.
Interesting trends for betting
- Columbus has a 34-26 lead in first-period goals scored and allowed.
The Blazers have conceded very few goals in the opening period compared to many teams.
- Columbus averages 8.82 penalty minutes per game.
Statistically, the Blue Jackets are ejected at least four times per game.
Trends
Bet 2nd period: total over 1.5 goals
In the last three matches involving the "pilots", the first period was productive
1.50Bet 3rd period: Philadelphia will score
Columbus has conceded in the third period for five straight games.
1.48Tip and bets
Columbus broke its losing streak, but the Jackets have been playing extremely poorly in December. Philadelphia has lost three games in a row, but hasn't looked that bad. The teams recently met in Ohio, and the Flyers confidently beat the Jackets, scoring five times. We think that John Tortorella men will be able to beat the Blue Jackets this time around. We suggest betting on a home win, taking into account overtime and shootouts.
Prediction - Philadelphia wins the match for 1.65
Bet on individual total
Philadelphia is scoring 3.03 goals this season, while the Flyers are slightly worse at home in attack. Columbus has seriously slowed down in terms of reliability and at the beginning of winter the visitors' defense was more like a sieve. A little over a week ago, the Flyers scored five goals against the Jackets and converted their chances well. We expect at least three accurate shots from the hosts.
We bet on Philadelphia individual total of more than three goals for 1.75
Total Bet
Lately, games involving Columbus have been extremely productive. The Jackets play poorly on their half of the court, but usually put a good load on the opponents' goalies. Philadelphia plays in a similar style and prefers open hockey. In a recent game between the clubs, they scored eight goals between them. Let bet on the total over.
We take the total over 5.5 pucks for 1.65
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