The Vancouver Canucks (23-9-3) return from the holiday break on Thursday with a home game against the Philadelphia Flyers (18-11-4), looking to deliver the visitors a third consecutive loss.
Vancouver averages the most goals in the league, and another high-scoring affair is expected on Thursday night. Bookmaker Pinnacle has the goals total at 6.0, with the odds for the over at -117. The odds are at -134 for Philadelphia to score over 2.5 goals, and the line for the Canucks is at 3.5 goals, with the odds for the over at +106.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: December 27th, 5:30 P.M. (EST)
The Canucks entered the holiday break as the first Canadian team since the Ottawa Senators in 2005 to lead the NHL in the overall standings. Rick Tocchet’s team has amassed 49 points through 35 games, which is only 34 fewer than Vancouver had across the entire 2022-23 campaign.
Tocchet has done an incredible job during his first full season in charge, particularly on the offensive front. The Canucks are scoring nearly four goals per game (3.86) and look capable of outscoring any opposition on any given night. They host Philadelphia with four players having averaged at least a point per game for the season, and defenseman Filip Hronek is sitting just short of it with 29 points in 35 appearances.
J.T. Miller leads the group with 48 points ahead of Quinn Hughes (44) and Elias Pettersson (43), and Brock Boeser is having a spectacular bounce-back season. After finishing the previous campaign with only 18 goals and 55 points, Boeser has already struck 24 times this season, collecting 38 total points in 35 outings. Only two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner Auston Matthews (28) boasts more goals this season.
The Flyers are among the lowest-scoring sides in the league but have still gotten close to three goals per game (2.97). Like Vancouver, Philadelphia is also enjoying a renaissance in 2023-24. Following a couple of very poor seasons, the Flyers are back in the playoff race, and a win over the league leaders would inject the team with further belief that they can get back into the postseason.
The last couple of games haven’t gone well for John Tortorella’s men, but Philadelphia is still on an impressive 7-1-2 run ahead of Thursday’s trip to Vancouver, where the Flyers will be looking to complete a season sweep in the match-up. Goaltender Carter Hart was the hero of the night in the first meeting of the year, stopping 26 shots for a shutout in a 2-0 win.
