Kings vs. Flyers prediction: Grab value with Philly at home against L.A.

The Philadelphia Flyers have been playing yoyo hockey for the past 10 days, alternating wins and losses in their last six contests.

For most teams, this would be cause for concern. For the Flyers, though, it’s a borderline reason to rejoice.

After all, Philadelphia went into its six-day Christmas break in a 4-14-5 slump that spanned nearly six weeks. Since returning to the ice Dec. 29? The Flyers are 9-4, with five upset victories.

One of those upsets: a 4-2 triumph over the Kings in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve.

The bicoastal teams are set to run it back Tuesday, this time at Wells Fargo Center. If you believe NHL oddsmakers, Los Angeles will get its revenge — and in the process hand Philadelphia consecutive losses for the first time since that pre-Christmas funk.

However, if you believe our Kings vs. Flyers prediction, those oddsmakers are offering up some strong value on what is a live home underdog.

Odds updated as of 12:45 p.m. ET on Jan. 24.

This is a solid situational spot for Philadelphia. Because while both teams are playing their third game in four nights, the Flyers are back at Wells Fargo Center following Sunday’s 5-3 home loss to Winnipeg.

In fact, this will be Philly’s fourth home game in its last five.

The Kings, meanwhile, have split the first two games of a six-game road trip. They went from Nashville on Saturday (5-3 loss) to Chicago on Sunday (2-1 win), and then flew to Philadelphia.

Sunday’s victory over the lowly Blackhawks snapped L.A.’s three-game losing skid. Once again, though, the offense struggled to put the biscuit in the basket.

Since tallying 15 goals in a three-game winning streak over Vegas, Edmonton and San Jose, the Kings have lit the lamp just seven times in the last four.

One reason for the offensive struggles: Three of L.A.’s top 10 scorers are hurt, including right wing Gabriel Vilardi.

Vilardi, who is second on the team with 17 goals and tied for fifth with 31 points, is questionable for Tuesday after missing the last three games with an undisclosed injury. Prior to hitting the shelf, Vilardi was in the midst of a four-game point streak and had hit the scoresheet at least once in seven of nine games.

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If Vilardi sits again or is limited, that’s an advantage for the Flyers and starting goaltender Carter Hart, who has posted a 4-3 record since missing a few games in late December/early January.

Only one of those defeats, however, can be characterized as a “bad loss” — that being Thursday’s inexcusable 4-1 setback to the Blackhawks at home. The other losses: at Boston (the NHL’s best team) and at home against Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs.

In case you’re wondering, the Bruins lead the NHL in scoring at 3.8 goals per game; Toronto is ninth at 3.36. Los Angeles is right in the middle of the pack at 3.16 (16th).

What about the Flyers’ offense? It surely won’t be confused with the mid-1980s Edmonton Oilers. But there has been an uptick over the past five weeks.

Dating back to a 6-3 home loss to the Rangers on Dec. 17, Philadelphia has scored three or more goals in 13 of its last 17 games, posting a per-game average of 3.41 during this span. Not spectacular, but far better than the club’s overall season average of 2.77 goals per game.

And while it’s not wise to count on this year’s Flyers to pound pucks in the net, Tuesday might be an exception. Because the Kings are projected to roll with journeyman goaltender Phoenix Copley, who has been splitting time with aging veteran Jonathan Quick.

Copley is (surprisingly) 13-3 as a starter. However, he’s dropped two of his last three. The lone win was in Chicago, but prior to that he got yanked in a 5-3 loss at Nashville after giving up two quick goals on three shots.

And in the previous three games, Copley surrendered 10 goals on 78 shots — a shaky .871 save percentage.

Finally, four strong trends favor the Flyers in this matchup:

Toss in the nice underdog price that BetMGM is offering, and we’ll back Philadelphia to continue its win-one/lose-one trend for a seventh straight game.

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