The spiral continues as the Philadelphia Flyers are looking to get back to their winning ways when they take on the New York Rangers. This will be the first of four matchups between the two teams. They’ll meet again in January and won’t finish up their season series until April.
The Rangers come in having won their last three games as the Flyers are on the opposite side with six straight losses. While the Rangers aren’t a powerhouse in the NHL, they do currently sit nine points ahead of Philadelphia in the standings. So they have been playing quite well early on.
Only giving up two goals to Boston and just a single goal to the Islanders, Philadelphia will once again appear to have a tough task ahead them in regards to putting the puck in the back of the net. During their six game losing streak, they’ve only scored more than two goals twice. They gave up four and six goals in those games respectively.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 8-8-4 (20 points, 7th in Metro)
The Flyers got some good news on Wednesday morning as Kevin Hayes will return to the lineup for the first time since November 16th. That was a stretch of six games. This will be just his third game of the season. Having him back could provide just the boost this team needs.
While they will get Hayes back, they will be without Derick Brassard and Nate Thompson. The latter underwent shoulder surgery and will be out for a lengthy amount of time. The former has an issue with his hips and will be out for at least tonight’s game. So Morgan Frost remains in the lineup while Connor Bunnaman is back as well. Max Willman was also recalled but was swiftly sent back to the Phantoms.
Chuck Fletcher took to the podium on Tuesday afternoon to address the state of the team. There were a lengthy amount of topics he discussed, including the Flyers’ troublesome power play. The unit is 27th in the league at 13.1%. Fletcher took an interesting spin on things as he put the onus on the players for the struggles of the unit. We’ll see how they respond this evening if given the chance.
Carter Hart will be back in net as he also looks to get back on track. He was on the losing end of the 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes. Hart, and Jones for that matter, have been one of the positives of this Flyers squad. He is 5-5-3 with a 2.67 GAA and a .920 SV%. The Rangers have scored 14 goals in their last three goals, two of which featured five goals.
Projected Lineup
Farabee – Couturier- van Riemsdyk
Giroux – Frost- Atkinson
Laughton – Hayes- Konecny
Lindblom – Bunnaman – MacEwen
Provorov – Seeler
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – Braun
Hart
New York Rangers
Record: 13-4-3 (29 points, 3rd in Metro)
As noted in their record, the Rangers have clearly found success early in this season. And it’s not a surprise on how they are doing it. When you have forwards like Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider, and Mika Zibanejad, it’s no surprise that New York finds themselves just a few points out of first place in the Metro.
Add in a Norris Trophy winner in Adam Fox and a young, goaltending phenom in Igor Shesterkin and the Rangers have found the keys to success. Alexis Lafreniere and Kappo Kakko have also found themselves playing quite well lately as well. The former hasn’t quite had the success that was expected of him, but five goals early on is nothing to shy away from. As for Kakko, he recently had a five-game point streak.
If there is any key to success in the Flyers in this one, it’s keeping an eye on Zibanejad. He completely torched Philadelphia last season. He registered seven goals and 18 points in eight games. So they must keep an eye on him.
By no surprise, Panarin leads the Rangers with 21 points in 20 games. Most of his points thus far have been assists, though he is always a dangerous threat on the ice. Kreider has been on an absolute tear for the Rangers as he has 15 goals, 10 more than the next closest teammate. His 18 points are third on the team. Fox has continued his strong play as he also has 21 points.
Shesterkin has been a workhorse for New York as he’s tended the net for 16 games and has an impressive 11-3-2 record. His 11 wins are tied with Freddie Andersen for second best in the league. Shesterkin also has a 2.22 GAA and a .933 SV%. He’s given up two goals or less in his last five games. So once again, it won’t be easy to put the puck past him.
Projected Lineup
Kreider – Zibanejad – Kakko
Panarin – Strome – Hunt
Lafreniere – Chytil – Gauthier
Rooney – Goodrow – Reaves
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Nemeth – Lundkvist
Shesterkin
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV Broadcast: NHL Network, NBCSP+
Radio Broadcast: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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