The playoffs are officially upon us as the Flyers are getting set for round robin play.
While the qualifying matchups will be underway shortly, the Flyers still have one more day before their round-robin play begins. They’ll be starting things off against the Boston Bruins. The Washington Capitals and Tampa Bay Lightning will be next on the schedule as well.
We’ll preview the matchup with Boston before the game on Sunday, but there is something of importance to note. Brad Marchand was injured during the Bruins exhibition game on Thursday.
It is unclear if he will be available to Boston on Sunday. That would be a big loss for the Bruins if Marchand is unable to play. He posted 87 points in 70 games this season as a part of the team’s top line. The Flyers help him slightly in check, though. He grabbed three points during the season series.
David Pastrnak was finally back for the Bruins exhibition game. He is a vital part of their offense, scoring an impressive 48 goals in 70 games. He was a co-winner of the Rocket Richard with Alex Ovechkin. Getting him back was important.
No matter who the Bruins put on the ice, the Flyers will have to be ready for a tough matchup. Sure, their spot is safe for the first round of the playoffs. But it would only benefit them to climb as high as they can in the seedlings. Finishing top of the group gives them the best odds as they would take on the highest remaining seed after the qualifying round.
They’ll be doing so with a familiar lineup to what Boston saw before the break. The difference being that the team is once again healthy. Philippe Myers, Nate Thompson, and James van Riemsdyk will all be available to the team.
Thompson was hurt in said game while the other two had missed time previously. With one more day to practice, we’ll see if Vigneault decides to put out the same group as what he has been practicing with. He’s already mentioned his defensive group will likely stay the same.
While the team has said to be looking ahead to the first official playoff game for them, they can’t look past how this round robin could help them. Getting hot during this could be vital to their postseason success.