The Flyers finally did it, they won a game of hockey. Coming in with a 10-game losing streak, Carter Hart led the way to a much needed victory. His 41 saves tied a career high as he remains undefeated when facing 40 or more shots. Now they will finish off the second half of a back to back against the Arizona Coyotes.
One can hope last nights win will be able to spark them in awhile. Going on a lengthy winning streak likely isn’t going to happen, but having something to pin your hat on moving forward is much more important right now.
Claude Giroux continued his strong season while Sean Couturier and James van Riemsdyk broke out of lengthy goal droughts. And Rasmus Ristolainen had a strong game defensively, even saving goals just as good as Hart. Well, maybe that’s a stretch, but he did make some key plays to stop the Knights from scoring.
All in all, it felt like a much better effort than we had seen before. It helped that the Vegas power play happened to be worse than what the Flyers put on the ice. The unit went 1/6 on the night and hardly looked dangerous.
This time around, Philadelphia is facing a team much lower in the standings than them. Arizona has won a few games since the last time they met, albeit only five in the 16 games they’ve played since. They are currently on a four-game losing streak and have been outscored 19-5. Only one of those games they were able to score two goals.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 9-12-4 (22 points, 7th in Metro)
The Flyers find themselves with a slightly easier schedule after having faced Tampa and Colorado earlier in the week. So with some practice time moving forward, they should have a bit more time to get settled into Mike Yeo’s system. And it should give him some time to get to know the players in his locker room and who works best where.
One thing is for certain, it’s clear that Giroux works best just about any where the team puts him. He has a commanding lead in points with 25, the next closest to him being Couturier with 15 and Cam Atkinson with 14. Giroux also leads the team in goals with nine, though he is tied with Atkinson for that honor.
Getting Couturier and van Riemsdyk, more importantly, on the scoresheet last game should help both build confidence moving forward. The latter has especially had a tough go as that was just his third goal on the season and seventh point in 25 games. He’s had a six game and 11 game goalless drought, meaning he’s only registered points in seven games total.
Philadelphia has been getting the goaltending that they’ve needed, for the most part. Especially from Hart. But it’ll be Martin Jones in net this time around. He’s performed better than most people expected and will have a chance to boost those numbers against a Coyotes team that hasn’t scored much recently. He’s sporting a 3.41 GAA and a .908 SV%, both numbers that could be improved upon.
Projected Lineup
Laughton – Couturier – Konecny
Frost – Giroux – Atkinson
Willman – Hayes – van Riemsdyk
Lindblom – Brown – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – Connauton
Jones
Arizona Coyotes
Record: 5-19-2 (12 points, 8th in Central)
It’s not exactly shocking to see the position that the Coyotes are in. They have some talent on their roster for sure, but haven’t been able to put it together this season. It took them until their 12th game of the year to win their first game. They’ve only won four games since and the first win was on November 6th.
They’re at the bottom of the league in most standings that you look out and have had rumors surrounding them that they’ll need a new place to play soon. The team has been trying to stay in the Arizona area, Tempe specifically, but time will tell where they end up.
As mentioned, they do have some talent on their roster. Clayton Keller leads the team in goals (6) and points (17). A familiar face will greet the Flyers and fans as Shayne Gostisbehere has had a strong season with his new team. He leads the Coyotes in assists (13) and is tied with Keller for the team lead in points. It won’t be the first time he’s played against his former team as the two met a little over a month ago in Philadelphia.
The Coyotes have also been able to see the growth of Karel Vejmelka this season. It’s hard to tell with his 2-10-1 record, but his other numbers are slightly surprising for a goaltender in his position. He holds a 3.13 GAA and a .906 SV%. The former stat is better than the Flyers starting goaltender and the latter is close as well.
Projected Lineup
Keller – Boyd – Kessel
Crouse – Hayton – Schmaltz
Roussel – Beagle – Eriksson
Ladd – Dzingel – Fischer
Chychrun – Lyubushkin
Gostisbehere – Mayo
Capobianco – Stralman
Vejmelka
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 9:00 PM
Where: Gila River Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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