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Who and what to watch for the Flyers against the Columbus Blue Jackets

By Jason Fedok |
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 02: Anthony Stolarz #41 of the Philadelphia Flyers tends the net against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2017 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 4-3. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 02: Anthony Stolarz #41 of the Philadelphia Flyers tends the net against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 2, 2017 in New York City. The New York Rangers won 4-3. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Philadelphia Flyers (11-12-2) face the Columbus Blue Jackets (15-10-2) tonight at the Wells Fargo Center. It’ll be the first game of the Chuck Fletcher era and here’s what to watch for. 

Anthony Stolarz

Stolarz was great against Pittsburgh and with no other clear and reliable goaltender right now, he’ll get his chance once again to show what he can do. Now that Fletcher is the GM, he’ll be evaluating the roster over the next few weeks and with the questions looming around the goalie situation, you can bet that he’ll be watching Stolarz closely tonight. He stopped 30 shots in the 4-2 victory over the Penguins, with a couple of huge saves to keep the Flyers ahead of their bitter rival. The defense struggled at times, but he was able to save them. It will be interesting to see if Stolarz can stop a second place Columbus team that has been really good so far this season.

Travis Konecny

Konecny did not have the greatest start to the season, but lately he has been on fire. He has five goals in the last six games and after seeming to be invisible on the ice at the beginning of the season, he has become one of the team’s most active offensive weapon. Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky is coming off a game in which he allowed eight goals so expect Konecny to put pucks on the net.

Claude Giroux

Captain Claude Giroux is someone to watch every game. He is the best player on the team and always finds a way to get the puck in the back of the net, whether it be off his stick or by assisting a teammate. He already has 30 points on the season off of nine goals and 21 assists, leading the team in that statistic. Look for him to end the game with at least one more point to add to his statistics.

Sean Couturier

Couturier leads the team in goals and is third on the team in total points. He is quietly putting together a really good season and with the Bobrovsky’s recent struggles, expect Couturier to be active and score. It’s been since the Rangers game that he scored last, but this is the perfect opportunity for him to add to his team-leading 10 goals. He is one of the most essential pieces to this team’s success despite not always being the spotlight of the team, but he has the ability to be a leader on this team.

Flyers Defense

Yes, I mean all of the defensemen. Guys like Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere have struggled this year and after the Pittsburgh game where Sidney Crosby scored just 39 seconds into the game because of a defensive breakdown, this group needs to be watched closely. They’ll have to play some of their best hockey tonight because of the tear that Cam Atkinson (19 goals) has been on for Columbus. Then there is Artemi Panarin who is quick and hard to stop. The defense will need to play very well to support Stolarz. Radko Gudas has been surprisingly good this season and his physical play played a key part in the win over Pittsburg, so look for him to continue that.

Don't expect change from Chuck Fletcher right away. dark. Next

The Blue Jackets are a intimidating team and have the ability to expose weak spots that the Flyers have. If Philadelphia wants to win this game, it’s going to take a full team effort to stop the offensive power of Columbus while also finding a way to get pucks past Bobrovsky, who has struggled at times this season. The puck drops at 7 p.m. tonight.

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