Joel Dorcas | January 31st, 2020

A decent slate awaits us for this Friday, January 31st. Tonight the focus will be squarely on a couple of home teams in advantageous spots. The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Philadelphia Flyers while the New York Rangers host the Detroit Red Wings. Get out your pens and pads to make some notes, it’s time for some Ice Picks!

Philadelphia Flyers (27-17-6) at Pittsburgh Penguins (31-14-5)

The Flyers/ Penguins matchup has all the makings of a really good battle as both teams continue to play well in the later stages of the season. To date, the season series has been split with the home team coming out on top on both occasions. January 21st, a 3-0 victory for the Flyers and October 29th, a 7-1 thrashing in favor of the Pens.

The Flyers will likely turn to veteran netminder Brian Elliott for this one as Carter Hart continues to nurse an abdominal strain. The Flyers have allowed 3.20 goals against per game over their last 10. They sport a 10-13-2 record with a nasty 3.80 goals-against average away from home.

The Penguins own an 18-5-3 record while averaging 3.42 goals per game at home. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are leading the charge for Pittsburgh. Sid has 3G, 3A in his last five, while Gino has put up a team-leading(tied with Kris Letang) 19 shots to go along with 3G and 6 A over the same five-game stint.

Detroit Red Wings (12-35-4) at New York Rangers (23-21-4)

The New York Rangers will be in a great spot to produce plenty of offense tonight against the woeful Detroit Red Wings. The Wings will head into this one with a league-worst 3.88 GAA. They have managed just two victories in their last 10 and are likely to lean on goaltender Jimmy Howard(2-19-2, 4.12 GAA, .883 sv%) for this one as Jonathan Bernier will be considered as a game-time decision with a lower-body injury.

The Rangers have put together a solid 13-10-2 record at MSG and the over has hit seven of the last nine games. In the only previous matchup, the Rangers won convincingly, 5-1. The Rangers own a ninth-best goal per game mark of 3.29.

Artemi Panarin continues to be the team’s best producer. In his last 10 games, he has six goals and 17 helpers along with 35 shots.

Defenseman Anthony DeAngelo is right around mid-tier pricing. He has 12 points(5 G, 7A), 30 shots and 10 blocks over his last 10.

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