New Year’s Day in the NHL can mean only one thing: The Winter Classic.
For the third consecutive year the NHL heads outdoors, this year at the home of the Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, as the Boston Bruins take on the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Bruins come into this game in mixed form (5-3-2) although they have won four of their last five home games. During that stretch they have also averaged an impressive 4.60 goals per game and a 38% conversion rate on their powerplay. Bruins forward Marc Savard appears to be fully healed from his recent injury and has one goal and seven assists in his last five games. Marco Sturm is another Bruins forward of fine form, with four goals in his last five games. In goal the Bruins are likely to go with last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas who is 10-9-5 with a 2.42 GAA and .918 save percentage this season. The Bruins have also not allowed a powerplay goal in their last five home games, killing off all sixteen powerplays they faced.
The Philadelphia Flyers will be looking forward to this game having beaten Boston twice already this season including a 3-1 in Boston on December 14th. Following a bad run that saw coach John Stevens fired, the Flyers have steadied the ship and are 5-4-1 in their last ten under new coach Peter Laviolette including four wins in their last five away games. They have also been effective offensively scoring an average of 3.40 goals per game over that five game period, converting 25% of their powerplays. In goal for the Flyers will likely be Michael Leighton, who was picked up on waivers from Carolina on December 5th and has a 1.50 GAA and .953 save percentage in his last four games. The Flyers have also been effective on the penalty kill in the last five road games allowing only two goals on eighteen attempts.
With both teams on good form and wanting to play well in one of the showcase games of the NHL season this is sure to be a tight one. Having lost twice already to the Flyers and having the game at Fenway, the Bruins will be desperate to score the victory. The Bruins at 4/6 (including OT) is a fair price while the Flyers are 11/10 (including OT) to secure the two points. The weather is likely to affect the play with snowy showers expected to make the ice tricky to play on. Under 5.5 goals at 8/11 may also prove to be a good bet as the teams come to grips with the snow and -3 degrees temperature.