New York Islanders vs. Philadelphia Flyers: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/6/2023

by Chuck Sommers

Monday, Feb 06, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Where to watch: MSGSN2, NBCSP

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks


DraftKings: Islanders -130, Flyers +110
FanDuel: Islanders -137, Flyers +112
BetMGM: Islanders -130, Flyers +110
Caesars: Islanders -130, Flyers +110

Season record
Islanders: 25-22-5
Flyers: 21-21-9

The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!

Islanders - Flyers preview, prediction and analysis


Recent results
Islanders: won 2-1 (OT) vs. Golden Knights
Flyers: won 4-0 at Jets

The New York Islanders will be playing the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, February 6 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The New York Islanders won against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday, January 28 at UBS Arena in New York with a score of 2-1 in overtime. The New York Islanders currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division.

Semyon Varlamov made 45 saves for the New York Islanders. Varlamov made four saves in overtime, including stopping William Carrier on a penalty shot 26 seconds into the period.

"It's nerve-racking I think for both of us, for the shooter and for the goalie," Varlamov said. "Goalie doesn't want to give one up, shooter wants to score, so I mean, I'm glad everything worked out for me. I was pretty happy to make that save."

Mathew Barzal won it for New York with 32 seconds remaining in overtime when he faked a one-timer, skated into the top of the right circle, and shot blocker side on Logan Thompson.

It was Barzal's first goal since Jan. 5 (11 games).

"It was great to see him score," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "He's had some opportunities over this stretch. … He put himself in a position tonight, and he shot the puck, and he got rewarded for it."

Anders Lee also scored for the Islanders (25-22-5), who were coming off a 2-0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.

"That was huge," Barzal said. "It kind of puts us right back in the hunt, so I'm sure we're going to be hungry to have a good start after the [All-Star] break."

The New York Islanders have won three of their last 10 games.

The Philadelphia Flyers won against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, January 28 at Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg with a score of 4-0. The Philadelphia Flyers currently rank 7th in the Metropolitan Division.

Carter Hart made 40 saves for his first shutout of the season.

"It's definitely something cool, growing up as a kid, 'Hockey Night in Canada' Saturday nights was always on in the household," said Hart, who is from Sherwood Park, Alberta. "It's always something kind cool and kind of a Canadian trademark, so it's kind of fun to play in these games."

Noah Cates and Owen Tippett each had a goal and an assist for the Flyers (21-21-9), who have a three-game point streak (1-0-2). Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists.

"Carter just was solid. He made some really good saves," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said. "Everybody contributed. It's great we scored four goals, but I liked our checking. I thought our positioning was good. That's a really good offensive team. That's a big team, but our sticks were good. That's the part of the game I liked."

Cates made it 1-0 at 15:15 of the first period, scoring after getting to a loose puck in front.

"Being hungry around the net, it's just got to be my game," Cates said. "It's how I need to score goals in this league. It's just kind of sticking with it and going from there."

Kieffer Bellows extended it to 2-0 at 11:53 of the second period with his first goal of the season, scoring on a sharp-angle shot from the left face-off circle.

The Flyers were playing their last game before the break.

"We're feeling good about ourselves going into the break with a win," Hart said. "We've had a really good month here in January (8-4-2) and we've got a couple of more big months coming down the stretch."

Tippett's breakaway goal off a Ristolainen stretch pass pushed the lead to 3-0 at 3:11 of the third, and Tony DeAngelo scored on the rush at 6:48 for the 4-0 final, chasing Hellebuyck.

"If [Winnipeg scores] one early, it puts a whole different light on that [third] period," Tortorella said. "The third one, it kind of sets them back a little bit. And then the fourth one, it really hurts. Again, it comes to the checking. We had good sticks. We had the middle of the ice quite a bit tonight. We blocked a lot of shots the second half of the game."

The Philadelphia Flyers have won five of their last 10 games.

Prediction

One of these days, we're going to find out exactly if the Flyers are frauds. Maybe trying to solve Ilya Sorokin will show they are not for real. But more importantly, this being the Islanders debut for Bo Horvat, they want to win for their new acquisition. Islanders 3, Flyers 1

Betting trends


Islanders are 15-10 off an under this season.

Islanders are 64-45 against division opponents the last 3 seasons.

Flyers are 8-25 off 2 straight unders the last 3 seasons.

Projected lines


Islanders:

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Casey Cizikas

TBD -- Bo Horvat -- Kyle Palmieri

Zach Parise -- Brock Nelson -- Simon Holmstrom

Matt Martin -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau  -- Josh Bailey

Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock

Alexander Romanov -- Scott Mayfield

Samuel Bolduc -- Sebastian Aho

Ilya Sorokin

Flyers:

James van Riemsdyk -- Morgan Frost -- Owen Tippett

Joel Farabee -- Noah Cates -- Travis Konecny

Kevin Hayes -- Scott Laughton -- Wade Allison

Nicolas Deslauriers -- Patrick Brown -- Kieffer Bellows

Ivan Provorov -- Cam York

Travis Sanheim -- Tony DeAngelo

Nick Seeler -- Rasmus Ristolainen

Carter Hart

Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert hockey picks today. And if you enjoyed this New York Islanders - Philadelphia Flyers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NHL projections and previews.

Chuck Sommers

About the Author:

Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.

All photographic images used for editorial content have been licensed from the Associated Press.

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