by Chuck Sommers
Thursday, Jan 26, 2023
Time: 8 p.m. ET
Venue: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Where to watch: HULU, ESPN+
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Wild -250, Flyers +190
FanDuel: Wild -250, Flyers +198
BetMGM: Wild -250, Flyers +190
Caesars: Wild -250, Flyers +205
Season record
Flyers: 20-21-8
Wild: 25-17-4
We’ve hit the halfway mark in the NHL season. Yes, you read that right. We’re really hit that halfway mark that quickly. If you blinked, you probably missed a lot of good things happen in the hockey world. And with football about to be out of the way, look for our champion handicappers to get back on the rink. Oskeim Sports is on a 13-5-0 run in the NHL over the last 30 days, as is Will Rogers. Sean Murphy has also cashed in with a 16-10-0 run in the last month. Make sure you’re following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to get on this winning action!
Flyers - Wild preview, prediction and analysis
Recent results
Flyers: lost 4-3 (OT) vs. Kings on Tuesday
Wild: lost 4-2 at Lightning on Tuesday
The Philadelphia Flyers will be playing the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, January 26 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Philadelphia Flyers lost against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, January 24 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Philadelphia Flyers currently rank 7th in the Metropolitan Division. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist, Ivan Provorov had two assists, and Carter Hart made 34 saves for the Flyers.
"Tonight, I mean, I watched how quick that team played when the game started and I said, 'Man.' But then I thought we stuck right in there with them, got our legs and played a really good hockey game," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said.
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period on van Riemsdyk's eighth goal. Owen Tippett was able to re-collect his bouncing entry pass into the offensive zone, springing a quick 2-on-1 that van Riemsdyk finished.
Wade Allison put the Flyers back up 2-1 at 10:27 by following up his own rebound off the rush.
Los Angeles was 1-for-5 on the power play; Philadelphia was 0-for-3.
"It's just too many penalties," Tortorella said. "I thought our penalty killers did a great job. Other than the quick first one that they scored, I thought our guys did a really good job."
The Philadelphia Flyers have won five of their last 10 games.
The Minnesota Wild lost against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, January 24 in Tampa Bay, Florida with a score of 4-2. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 4th in the Central Division. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (25-17-4), which has lost three straight. Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves.
"I thought we responded extremely well. We all thought it was a great hockey game," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "Did we mistake some mistakes? Sure. But did we compete our [butts] off? Yeah.
"Truly, if we play like that every night, we'll give ourselves a better chance to win than we will to lose."
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the second period, scoring short-handed on a breakaway after the Lightning turned over the puck at the blue line.
"We played hard, we played gritty," Minnesota defenseman Jake Middleton said. "The physicality was there, the will in the [defensive] zone was there. We just fell short this time."
Tampay Bay’s Corey Perry tied it 1-1 at 9:44 with a deflection of Colton's one-timer shortly after a power play expired.
"The first one was definitely going 10 feet wide," Colton said. "Credit to him, that was an unbelievable tip."
Kirill Kaprizov put the Wild back in front 2-1 at 11:42, converting a rebound in the slot on a power play.
"I thought we played pretty good," Fleury said. "That's a good team and we hung with them. It's a tough loss for sure."
The Minnesota Wild have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Wild are in need of getting back on track, and this is the kind of opponent to do so against. The Flyers have lost five of the last seven meetings, and I see that trend continuing. Wild 4, Flyers 2
The Philadelphia Flyers will be playing the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, January 26 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The Philadelphia Flyers lost against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, January 24 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with a score of 4-3 in overtime. The Philadelphia Flyers currently rank 7th in the Metropolitan Division. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and an assist, Ivan Provorov had two assists, and Carter Hart made 34 saves for the Flyers.
"Tonight, I mean, I watched how quick that team played when the game started and I said, 'Man.' But then I thought we stuck right in there with them, got our legs and played a really good hockey game," Philadelphia coach John Tortorella said.
The Flyers took a 1-0 lead at 5:50 of the first period on van Riemsdyk's eighth goal. Owen Tippett was able to re-collect his bouncing entry pass into the offensive zone, springing a quick 2-on-1 that van Riemsdyk finished.
Wade Allison put the Flyers back up 2-1 at 10:27 by following up his own rebound off the rush.
Los Angeles was 1-for-5 on the power play; Philadelphia was 0-for-3.
"It's just too many penalties," Tortorella said. "I thought our penalty killers did a great job. Other than the quick first one that they scored, I thought our guys did a really good job."
The Philadelphia Flyers have won five of their last 10 games.
The Minnesota Wild lost against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, January 24 in Tampa Bay, Florida with a score of 4-2. The Minnesota Wild currently rank 4th in the Central Division. Joel Eriksson Ek had a goal and an assist for Minnesota (25-17-4), which has lost three straight. Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves.
"I thought we responded extremely well. We all thought it was a great hockey game," Wild coach Dean Evason said. "Did we mistake some mistakes? Sure. But did we compete our [butts] off? Yeah.
"Truly, if we play like that every night, we'll give ourselves a better chance to win than we will to lose."
Eriksson Ek gave the Wild a 1-0 lead at 3:43 of the second period, scoring short-handed on a breakaway after the Lightning turned over the puck at the blue line.
"We played hard, we played gritty," Minnesota defenseman Jake Middleton said. "The physicality was there, the will in the [defensive] zone was there. We just fell short this time."
Tampay Bay’s Corey Perry tied it 1-1 at 9:44 with a deflection of Colton's one-timer shortly after a power play expired.
"The first one was definitely going 10 feet wide," Colton said. "Credit to him, that was an unbelievable tip."
Kirill Kaprizov put the Wild back in front 2-1 at 11:42, converting a rebound in the slot on a power play.
"I thought we played pretty good," Fleury said. "That's a good team and we hung with them. It's a tough loss for sure."
The Minnesota Wild have won four of their last 10 games.
Prediction
The Wild are in need of getting back on track, and this is the kind of opponent to do so against. The Flyers have lost five of the last seven meetings, and I see that trend continuing. Wild 4, Flyers 2
Betting trends
Flyers are 26-68 when playing a 4th game in 7 days the last 3 years.
Flyers are 5-14 after allowing 3 goals or more in 2 straight games this season.
Wild are 10-8 after a non-conference game this season.
Projected lines
Flyers:
James van Riemsdyk -- Morgan Frost -- Owen Tippett
Joel Farabee -- Noah Cates -- Travis Konecny
Kevin Hayes -- Scott Laughton -- Wade Allison
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Patrick Brown -- Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov -- Cam York
Travis Sanheim -- Tony DeAngelo
Nick Seeler -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Carter Hart
James van Riemsdyk -- Morgan Frost -- Owen Tippett
Joel Farabee -- Noah Cates -- Travis Konecny
Kevin Hayes -- Scott Laughton -- Wade Allison
Nicolas Deslauriers -- Patrick Brown -- Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov -- Cam York
Travis Sanheim -- Tony DeAngelo
Nick Seeler -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Carter Hart
Wild:
Kirill Kaprizov -- Sam Steel -- Mats Zuccarello
Matt Boldy -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Jordan Greenway
Brandon Duhaime -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury
Kirill Kaprizov -- Sam Steel -- Mats Zuccarello
Matt Boldy -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Ryan Hartman
Marcus Foligno -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Jordan Greenway
Brandon Duhaime -- Connor Dewar -- Ryan Reaves
Jake Middleton -- Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin -- Matt Dumba
Jon Merrill -- Calen Addison
Marc-Andre Fleury
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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.
