Bet on Hurricanes to cover puck line spread against Flyers on Thursday

The Philadelphia Flyers have been a tough out all season. Through hard work, strong defensive play and timely scoring, the Flyers have been able to exceed expectations in 2023-24 and find themselves in a playoff spot with less than a month left in the regular season.

The job is far from done for Philadelphia, however. The Flyers are in the middle of a brutal stretch of schedule that sees them play the Hurricanes, Bruins, Panthers and Rangers between now and Tuesday. If John Tortorella’s team can get through these next six nights intact, they’ll have a great chance of getting into the dance.

An upset in Carolina on Thursday would be a massive boost for the upstart Flyers.

Philadelphia has been a team you want to target as a big underdog this season. The Flyers are where they are in the standings because they have wins over the Panthers (twice), Oilers, Canucks, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Jets (twice) and Avalanche. Philadelphia’s work ethic and commitment to its defensive structure gives it a high floor, so opponents need to have their A-game if they want to get by the gritty Flyers.

The issue for Philadelphia right now is that its defensive game has suffered of late and there’s a logical explanation. The Flyers are without Nick Seeler, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jamie Drysdale due to injury, and they traded away Sean Walker at the deadline. That’s forced Tortorella to revamp his blueline and it hasn’t gone especially well.

That blueline will face a significant test in Raleigh on Thursday.

The Carolina Hurricanes are rolling right now and they have been for months. Carolina is 15-4-1 over its last 20 games and their statistical portfolio is arguably the best in the entire NHL. There isn’t a team in the league that does a better job limiting scoring chances at 5-on-5 right now, but Carolina’s offensive output is also impressive. The Canes lead the NHL in expected goals percentage since Christmas and they rank second in 5-on-5 goal difference.

With Jake Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov in tow, the Canes look like the clear favorite to win the Stanley Cup.

Philadelphia has been a pesky underdog all season, but Carolina’s form and style make this a tricky matchup for Philadelphia.

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