Flyers vs Islanders Game 6 Odds & Pick – Sep. 3

• The Flyers narrowly avoided elimination, beating the Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday
• Scott Laughton scored the game-winner to put the best-of-seven series at 3-2 for the Isles
• See the odds Game 6 on Thursday, Sep. 3rd, when Philadelphia will face elimination for the second game in a row

With their backs against the wall, the Philadelphia Flyers came up with a massive effort in Game 5 on Tuesday.

Then they nearly gave it all away.

The Flyers flipped the script on the Islanders for 55 minutes. Defensively they suffocated their attack, limiting their opportunities. Offensively they capitalized and kept the pressure on New York’s defense.

But the Islanders scored twice in the final five minutes to send Game 5 to OT, and had their fair share of chances to finish the series. Do the Flyers have what it takes to force a Game 7?

Flyers vs Islanders: Game 6 Odds

Odds as of Sept 1st.

The odds for Game were a pick’em, and not much has changed for Game 6, with a slight edge to the Islanders.

Looking at the spread, three of the five games have been decided by one goal. And when it comes to the Flyers vs Islanders odds, the Flyers are still underdogs to come back, but it’s much closer.

Health of Stars Front and Center

Both the Islanders and Flyers suffered key injuries on Tuesday night.

Flyers center Sean Couturier left the game and didn’t play in the third period or overtime. Meanwhile, New York center Mathew Barzal was hit with an inadvertent high-stick near the eye and left the game late in the third. Both are massive losses.

Couturier vs Barzal: Series Stats

At this point, don’t assume that either returns for Game 6. Barring anything catastrophic, however, it would be fair to expect to see Barzal back with a full cage.

Worry is for an MCL injury for Couturier and the typical timeline is 4-6 weeks if completely torn https://t.co/BbovBpWpy6

— Dr. Harjas Grewal (@Harjas_Grewal) September 2, 2020

The big loss here is Couturier. He has been the Flyers’ best forward over the last two games, notching Corsi Percentages of 74.19 and 87.50. He helped generate 12 scoring chances in Game 4 and six in just two periods of Game 5. He was also responsible for eight high-danger chances in that span.

For a forward group that has spent much of this series frustrated, losing Couturier would be a massive blow.

Flyers’ Hart the Reason There’s a Game 6

While I haven’t hung the Flyers’ woes squarely on Carter Hart, I don’t think he’s quite lived up to the standard he set against Montreal.

Against the Habs, Hart was out-of-this-world. Against the Islanders, he’s allowed a few clunkers, but his defense has also hung him out to dry. When it was all on the line in overtime, though, he was the Flyers’ best player.

Flyers vs Islanders Overtime Offenses

The Flyers dominated possession in OT, but it didn’t play out like Game 2. Both sides had equal opportunities to win it, and Hart outplayed Semyon Varlamov, who had the benefit of a couple of posts.

Carter Hart of the @NHLFlyers became the fifth active goaltender to win an elimination game before his 23rd birthday. The others: Seymon Varlamov (4x), Matt Murray (2x), Braden Holtby (2x) and Carey Price. #NHLStats #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/DKtBYvAX5m

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 2, 2020

While Philly still needs to win a pair of games, it’s not impossible if Hart plays up to his past standards. They’ll need to be better than they were in the second and third, however. The Flyers were doubled up on scoring chances 20-10, and gave up over three times as many high-danger chances (11-3).

Flyers Need 60-Minute Effort to Force Game 7

To be completely honest, we expected the Flyers to come out firing and win Game 5. Yes, they nearly blew it, but they got a win when they needed it the most.

But their season ends on Thursday.

Following their loss in Game 2, the Islanders put the clamps on the Flyers. And with Couturier’s status up in the air, we expect them to do it again in a low-scoring affair.

The Pick: Islanders (-112); UNDER 5.0 (+100)