Philadelphia Flyers vs New Jersey Devils

Travis Konecny and the Flyers ride a two-game win streak into Newark to face a Devils team that has answered its three-game skid with three straight wins and a statement 5-0 shutout in Buffalo, so momentum is real on both benches as they square off again less than a week after Philadelphia’s 6-3 home win in this matchup. With Jack Hughes, Brett Pesce, Evgenii Dadonov and Zack MacEwen all on injured reserve for New Jersey, and Rasmus Ristolainen plus prospect defender Oliver Bonk sidelined for Philadelphia, the Devils are clearly the more impacted side in terms of star power and defensive depth despite their current surge. Historically this rivalry leans on high-end centers and wingers, and even though Hughes has 18 points in 23 career games versus the Flyers, his absence shifts more of the offensive burden onto Nico Hischier (21 points in 25 games vs Philadelphia) and Jesper Bratt, while Konecny’s 27 points in 38 career games against New Jersey underscore how often he drives results in this matchup. The current ESPN rosters confirm that the Flyers’ forward group of Konecny, Trevor Zegras, Matvei Michkov, Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett will go head-to-head with a Devils core of Hischier, Bratt, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer and Luke Hughes, but the goaltending matchup tilts slightly toward Philadelphia if Dan Vladar (2.39 GAA, .913 SV%) draws Jacob Markstrom (3.56 GAA, .874 SV%) instead of the red-hot Jake Allen. With New Jersey justifiably priced as a home favorite at -145 but carrying meaningful injury risk and goaltending uncertainty, while the Flyers bring form, confidence and plus money at 122 after already solving this opponent once, I like the underdog side of the moneyline and would grade Flyers 122 as a B+ pick for a solid blend of upset probability and attractive payout. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/11/2025 09:30am

Both clubs enter this rematch trending toward higher-event hockey, with the Devils riding a three-game win streak in which they’ve scored 4, 3 and 5 goals, and the Flyers winning two straight while putting up 6, 4 and 4, so recent form alone pushes this total above the 5.5 bar more often than not. New Jersey is doing this despite major injuries, leaning on Hischier, Bratt and Meier while Hughes and Pesce sit out, and that combination of redistributed offense plus a blue line missing a key stopper tends to create more open ice and odd-man rush chances the other way; on the Philadelphia side, Ristolainen’s absence removes a heavy-minutes penalty killer in front of a goaltending tandem with very different profiles in Vladar and Samuel Ersson, which can also juice volatility. Season-long numbers back the idea of a modestly paced but efficient scoring environment: the Devils have 75 goals through 24 games (just over 3.1 per night) and the Flyers 63 in 23 (about 2.7), while their first meeting this season flew over with a 6-3 scoreline and featured three Flyers goals in 26 seconds plus a Hischier-led pushback for New Jersey. Even if Jake Allen doesn’t go on the back-to-back and Markstrom gets the crease, his higher goals-against and lower save percentage versus Vladar’s more stable metrics increase the chances that defensive breakdowns or power-play chances convert rather than die on hot goaltending. With Over 5.5 sitting at -120 instead of an even-money price, the market is already shading toward a track-meet outcome, but given the combination of current streaks, injury-driven lineup shapes and proven finishing talent on both sides, I still see enough edge to play the Over at a B grade—reasonable likelihood of clearing six goals, albeit with only moderate value at this juice. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/11/2025 09:30am

Given the way both teams are playing, I’d rather trust the Flyers to keep this within a goal than lay goals with a short-handed Devils group that has alternated multi-goal wins and losses in this rivalry over the past two seasons, including a recent 6-3 Philadelphia win, a 5-0 Devils home shutout, and several 3-1 or 4-2 finals inflated by empty-netters. New Jersey’s current three-game winning streak and home-ice edge at Prudential Center are real advantages, but the absence of Hughes and Pesce trims some of the gap in top-end scoring and defensive suppression, which matters when you’re asking the favorite not just to win but to clear the -1.5 puckline; meanwhile, the Flyers come in on a two-game heater with their top six—Konecny, Zegras, Michkov, Couturier and Tippett—healthy and driving play, supported by a Vladar/Ersson tandem that has generally kept them competitive on the road. Over a longer sample, Konecny’s 27 career points in 38 games against New Jersey and Hischier’s 21 in 25 against Philadelphia show how often these matchups hinge on one-goal swings from their primary drivers, and the current rosters on ESPN confirm that most of those forwards are active, which further nudges expectation toward tight finishes. With so many recent head-to-heads decided by two or more only because of late empty-netters, grabbing Flyers +1.5 at -210 feels like a high-probability but low-upside way to leverage their form and the Devils’ injury list, so I’d tag this as a B- puckline play: safer than the moneyline, but with thinner long-term value given the heavy juice. Odds and availability are subject to change. This bet was made at 29/11/2025 09:30am