Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins - Lehigh Valley Phantoms predictions and free betting tips [24/04/2024]

American Hockey League. Playoffs 2024. Calder Cup. Best-of-two series. Score 0-0. Another match will be kicking off the 1/16 series, this time between teams from the Atlantic Division. The main point of interest is that this is, in fact, the biggest difference between teams at this stage of the tournament: The third and sixth team of the division will be clashing. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will host Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

It's interesting to see how this team will perform in the playoffs. During the regular season, it seemed like they could have ranked higher, but it didn't work out. Now, there's a chance they might get knocked out in the short playoff series, where anything can happen. They finished the regular season with 87 points.

The Penguins earned those points thanks to 39 victories in regulation time, eight losses in overtime, and one in shootouts. They became second in the division by the number of conceded goals – 194. However, in terms of goals scored they finished only fifth – with 211 pucks.

Lehigh Valley Phantoms

The Philadelphia farm club performed better than their major league counterpart, by making it into the playoffs. They managed to squeeze in, albeit from the last spot eligible for playoffs, but at least they are in there, even if just in the 1/16 final. During the regular season, Lehigh Valley tallied 73 points. The Phantoms earned these points through 32 victories in regulation time, six losses in overtime, and another three losses in shootouts.

They lost the rest of the matches, exactly 31, without gaining any extra points. On top of that, Lehigh Valley is second to last in terms of goals scored in the division – 191. In terms of conceded goals, they rank fifth in the division – 217 pucks.

Head-to-Head Meetings

This season, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms squared off in 12 clashes. Eight of them were won by the Penguins, while Lehigh Valley took home the remaining four encounters.

Prediction

The favourite of this match, according to Betsiti, is indeed Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with the odds of 2.07 on their victory. Meanwhile, the odds for a Lehigh Valley Phantoms win currently stand at 2.85. And here, I would like to place my wager on P1, as it seems to me, everything indicates a victory for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the opening match.

Total Prediction (Over/Under)

As for the total, here I have faith in the overs. Yes, the teams may not be that high-scoring, but they still endure quite a number of conceded goals.