Flyers Need More Out Of Their Power Play vs Wild

The Philadelphia Flyers will need more out of their man advantage unit as they take on the Minnesota Wild on the road.

Coming off of a 3-1 loss at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in their last contest, the Philadelphia Flyers will hope to avoid a two-game losing streak as they face off with the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. This will mark the first of two meetings between the clubs, as they’ll meet again in Philadelphia in March. The Flyers have had the Wild’s number over the years, posting a 16-7-1 record against the Central Division squad since their NHL arrival in 2001, and Philly will obviously hope for more the same this time around.

After barely getting themselves on the board in the game against Colorado, Philadelphia could sure use some offensive output in this one. One way they can do so is by getting their ever-so-struggling power-play going, which has failed to register a goal in their last five games. This cold streak has moved them down to 19th among all teams in the league in power-play percentage with a 17.92 conversion rate. At some point, all of the talent the group possesses has to take matters into their own hands, let that skill reign supreme, and find a way to put the puck in the net. It’d also be helpful if Assistant Coach Michel Therrien could put them in a better position to produce.

Another reason why I’m looking for the man advantage to step up is that the Wild haven’t been the greatest team while shorthanded this season. Not only do they have the ninth-worst penalty-kill percentage in the NHL at 77.66%, but their goaltending has been especially bad when they’re down a man. Devan Dubnyk, Alex Stalock, and to a lesser extent Kaapo Kahkonen have combined for the second-lowest percentage of High Danger Shots against that were not Goals, fourth-lowest total Scoring Chance Shots against that were not Goals, and tenth-worst overall save percentage while shorthanded, per Natural Stat Trick. The Flyers have to exploit this flaw to not only get the power-play up and running again but to help themselves walk out of Minny with a W.

Puck drop is set for 7 pm EST. You can watch the game on NBC Sports Philadelphia or Fox Sports North in the Minnesota area.