The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers are not where they imagined, or where they’d like to be in the standings, but this Saturday afternoon matchup should have a ton of offense.
Chicago pulled off a huge upset win on home ice the other night when it defeated the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on an overtime goal by Alex DeBrincat.
The Flyers had a strong offensive showing on Thursday night at home against the Minnesota Wild, scoring four goals on 30 shots, but they couldn’t slow down Minnesota’s offense, falling short in a 5-4 defeat.
Here are our free NHL picks and predictions for Blackhawks vs. Flyers on March 5
Blackhawks vs Flyers odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Philadelphia Flyers opened up as -115 favorites, but the line has since moved to -120, suggesting that the Blackhawks should be clear underdogs in this matchup. The total opened up at 5.5 and shouldn’t have any movement.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until puck drop and be sure to check out the full NHL odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Blackhawks vs Flyers predictions
Predictions made on 3/4/2022 at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Blackhawks vs Flyers game info
• Location: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
• Date: Saturday, March 5, 2022
• Puck drop: 3:00 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC
Blackhawks vs Flyers betting preview
Key injuries
Blackhawks: Jujhar Khaira F (Out), Andrew Shaw F (Out), Reese Johnson F (Out).
Flyers: Justin Braun D (Questionable), Ryan Ellis D (Out) Kevin Hayes F (Questionable), Wade Allison F (Out), Sean Couturier F (Out, Nate Thompson F (Out).
Find our latest NHL injury reports.
Blackhawks vs Flyers head-to-head record
Blackhawks: 1-5-0 SU, 9 goals for (since 2017-18).
Flyers: 5-1-0 SU, 18 goals for (since 2017-18).
Betting trend to know
Flyers are 1-4 in their last 5 games as a favorite. Find more NHL betting trends for Blackhawks vs. Flyers.
Blackhawks vs Flyers picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline/Puck line analysis
The Flyers and Blackhawks haven’t seen each other in quite some time, since October of 2019 to be exact, but these two teams are pretty much in the same boat this season. They match up very well as they are ranked close together in offensive and defensive statistics.
The Flyers have been nothing short of disappointing this season. They had very high hopes going into this season with some big offseason acquisitions in Cam Atkinson and Ryan Ellis, but even with these upgrades, the Flyers still somehow sit in last place in the Metropolitan division with a record of 16-28-10.
Although they haven’t won much as of late, they continue to compete in every single game and they do give themselves a chance to win every night, they are just struggling to get the job done. They came so close to beating the Minnesota Wild in their last game on Thursday night and they can hopefully take some of the positives from that contest into this battle against the Blackhawks.
One positive note is that Kevin Hayes might be making his return to the lineup. He’s only appeared in 20 games this season, but he is one of the Flyers' most skilled forwards.
The Blackhawks are coming off of a big overtime win against the Oilers in a pretty evenly played game. Chicago’s season has also been a complete mess after getting off to a horrendous start. The Blackhawks are currently in second to last in the Central division with a record of 20-27-8 and 2-2-1 in their last five games.
Chicago’s offensive production has been extremely inconsistent all year long. In its last five games, it has scored 14 goals, but it was shut out in two of those contests. The Hawks rank 30th in offensive production, as they are only scoring 2.45 goals per game.
The Flyers' offense hasn’t been much better. They are only averaging 2.50 goals per game, which has them ranked 29th in the league. In their last five games, they have scored only 10 goals and have been shutout once.
The goalie matchup will be a battle of the backups as the Flyers have named Martin Jones as the starter and the Blackhawks have confirmed that Kevin Lankinen will be their guy in the blue paint.
Chicago should have some offensive momentum after its big win against the Oilers and it can take advantage of a weak goalie in net for the Flyers.
Prediction: Blackhawks ML (+100)
Over/Under analysis
Despite both teams’ lack of offensive production, both have the talent up front to open things up in this game and it’s not like either team has had such stellar goaltending. Jones has only appeared in 20 games this year and he has posted a record of 6-10-3 while skating to a .898 save percentage and a -5.9 Goals Saved Above Expected. Lankinen hasn’t appeared in all that many games either, he is 3-5-4 with a .997 save percentage and a -15.1 GSAx.
Both teams are almost even when it comes to playing in their defensive end. The Blackhawks are slightly better in this area as they are allowing 3.38 goals per game and the Flyers are ranked one spot below them, giving up 3.43 per contest.
The Hawks are led by Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat up front and both have the ability to take over a game, especially against a weaker team like the Flyers. Kane leads the team with 17 goals and 38 assists in 55 games and Debrincat has 30 goals, 16 assists in 55 games as well.
The Flyers are led by their captain, Claude Giroux, with 17 goals and 23 assists in 51 games and Cam Atkinson with 18 goals, 21 assists in 54 games.
With both backups playing, I can see each team taking advantage offensively. I’m going with the over.
Prediction: Over 5.5 (-120)
Best bet
Both teams are going to try and establish momentum early in this game and the goaltenders should be a little on edge. Each team had two first-period goals in their previous game and the way they have played in their own end, this could have a very sloppy start.
The focus should be on the aforementioned players — Kane and DeBrincat for the Hawks and Giroux and Atkinson for the Flyers. If Hayes does in fact make his return to the lineup, he should give the Flyers a nice spark offensively. Hayes plays a huge role on this team both on the ice and in the room.
Chicago has been a solid first-period team as it has been able to score in three of its last five. The Flyers have only scored in two of their last five, but with Lankinen in net for Chicago, I like Philly’s chances to pounce on him early.
Pick: 1P Over 1.5 (-125)
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