Finally, it’s time to sit down and watch some Flyers/Penguins rivalry hockey.

Alain Vigneault’s 5-2-1 Flyers head into Pittsburgh to face the “Sid-less” Pittsburgh Penguins, who are 3-3-2 heading into tonight’s contest. This is the first Metropolitan division matchup for the Flyers this season, and the fact that it’s coming against the Penguins makes it even that much more exciting.

Despite last year being a total train-wreck in every conceivable way possible, the Flyers still managed to post a 5-3-0 record in 8 games against the Penguins. Don’t ask me how or why, just be happy it happened.

With fans not being in buildings last season, getting this type of rivalry game back in-front of a packed stadium (even though it’s not Philly fans), is going to be extremely nice to see again. I’m sure they’ll be some well-traveled Flyers fans representing the Orange & Black tonight in Pittsburgh.

Rasmus Ristolainen has made in public that he’s looking forward to playing Pittsburgh and getting physical in the first “Battle of Pennsylvania” game of the season. Ristolainen against this team is the first thing I personally thought of when we traded for him. His physical style of play is exactly what Flyers fans want to see in a hard-fought game againts Pittsburgh.

With a record of 5-0-1 when they score first, I’m sure the message tonight for the Flyers is to get off to a quick start against a team that hasn’t had the same success in scoring the first goal. The Penguins have scored the first goal of the game in 4 of their first 8 games, as to where the Flyers have scored the first goal in 6 of their first 8 games.

The Flyers ability to get off to hot starts this season has been a breath of fresh air and something that Flyers fans aren’t really used to. Let’s see if they can continue the trend of scoring the first goal tonight.

Ryan Ellis skated on his own yesterday but will not make the road trip so he’s out for at least the next two games against Pittsburgh and Washington. Ellis after Saturday, will have missed 7 games this season after playing in the first 3. You obviously don’t want the Flyers bringing him back to early just to tweak something again, but not having #94 for these many games sucks, to put it bluntly. Looking forward to getting Ellis back whenever we do.

Carter Hart going head-to-head againts Tristan Jarry tonight. Hart is currently posting a 2.33GAA on the season with a .928%. He was exceptional and the only reason the Flyers were in the game against Calgary in 4-0 loss on Saturday. Hart bounced back and shutout the Arizona Coyotes, saving 29 of 29 shots in a 3-0 win for the Flyers on Tuesday. Jarry’s last start came on October 30th vs New Jersey, where he let in 4 goals on 40 shots in a loss.

Sean Couturier wakes up on game days against the Penguins a different man. I don’t know what it is, but whatever he’s doing, it’s working. I mean come on, the guy has been terrorizing the Penguins since he was 18 years old. I’m pretty sure Malkin still wakes up in the middle of the night, screaming, after having yet another dream of Couturier locking him up all game. In 45 career games against Pittsburgh, Couturier has 8G-20A-28P, all while locking down Malkin any chance he gets. (Malkin isn’t playing tonight sadly)

Sidney Crosby is another player for the Penguins who will not be in the line up tonight. Crosby is currently in covid protocols.

Flyers’ projected Line ups against Penguins at 7pm on NBCSN Philadelphia

Giroux – Couturier – Konecny

Farabee – Brassard – Atkinson

Lindblom – Laughton – JVR

NAK – Thompson – MacEwen

Provorov – Braun

Sanheim – Ristolainen

Yandle – Seeler

Hart

Last night my co-host Danny Diemer and I put out our first NHL picks with Parx Sportsbook and we hit on 3 of them, with our 4-leg parlay missing by 1 game. Here are the picks that did hit:

Oilers ML

Hurricanes ML

Blue Jackets +1.5

If you trailed any of those single bets, have a night! As for tonight:

7:00pm: PHI Flyers (+100) @ PIT Penguins (-121)

Our pick on Parx Sportsbook: PHI Moneyline (+100)

If you thought we were going to pick anything different, you’re sadly mistaken. The Penguins have no Crosby, no Malkin, and no Rust. I know the Flyers have been without Hayes and Ellis, but on paper the Flyers are just much deeper than the Penguin right now. I’ll give Mike Sullivan credit, he could have VandeVelde looking like a top six player, the way he’s able to get guy’s I’ve NEVER heard of to play well for him. I don’t know what is it, but he always has his teams playing hard despite being depleted at times.

7:00pm: NY Islanders (-134) @ MTL Canadiens (+110)

Our pick on Parx Sportsbook: NYI Moneyline (-134)

The Canadiens didn’t start the season out to hot, losing their first 5 games. Since then, they’ve picked up 3 wins, now sitting with a 3-8-0 record. Getting under the win column is good and all, but without Price, Weber, Danault and now Caufield (AHL), I just don’t see them beating a Trotz led team. Islanders are coming off a 2-1 shootout loss to Nashville, but shutout Vegas and Arizona days prior. Looking for the Islanders to get a big win tonight.

7:00pm: Vegas Golden Knights (-120) @ Ottawa Senators (-103)

Our pick on Parx Sportsbook: OTT +1.5 (-265)

Going with the same theme as we did last night. CBJ +1.5 worked out well for us with that game going into OT. With Vegas dealing with a plethora of injuries, plus just trading for Jack Eichel, their line-up is depleted. Brett Howden is playing 1C for them tonight. All that needs to be said.

Ottawa is a young, fun, energetic group that I think taking a +1.5 flyer on is worth the gamble.

Official Parlay

• PHI ML (+100)
• NYI ML (-134)
• OTT (+1.5)

+383

Here are the odds on tonight’s Parlay brought to you by Parx Sportsbook, the official sports gambling partner of The Liberty Line.

Player Prop

There are 3 player props I really like tonight:

• Travis Konecny to score (+210)
• Sean Couturier to score (+200)
• Keith Yandle to record a point (+115)

Konecny lives for these type of rivalry games, plus he loves showing up against the Penguins. 8G-10A-18P in 22 games in his career vs Pittsburgh. I already explained what Couturier does against Pittsburgh, you may even want to take a look at the odds for Couturier to record 2 points (+250). Keith Yandle isn’t on PP1 anymore, but he still brings a veteran presence on the blue line during the man advantage.

(Help us out and drop a $25 deposit in there. You can also download the app and use promo code LIBERTYYELL if that’s easier.)

Mandatory Credit: CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer