After getting their first win of 2022 against the Los Angeles Kings, the Flyers are looking to keep the good things going before the break. They’ll welcome in the Winnipeg Jets, a team they haven’t seen since February of 2020.
The last time these two teams faced off, Patrik Laine was still with the Jets. He had a goal and eight shots for Winnipeg. Scott Laughton scored twice while Tyler Pitlick and Sean Couturier had the other two goals in the victory. Seven members of the team that took the ice for Philadelphia are no longer in the organization.
Going back to the Flyers last game, there was still some things that needed to be cleaned up. They allowed the Kings to come back in the third period, giving up the tying goal in the final 30 seconds. Laughton would get the going in overtime to stop the losing streak. Even with a win, there still isn’t a lot to be celebrated.
If Philadelphia can find themselves in the win column once more, they can start to feel much better about themselves during the All-Star break.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 14-22-8 (36 points, 7th in Metro)
For the first time since December 29th, the Flyers were able to say that they won a hockey game. They had gone 0-10-3, making it technically a winless streak instead of a losing streak. But no matter which way you put it, the team was in a bad way for most of the month of January.
Saturday’s win against Los Angeles is the first step into how Mike Yeo has said he has wanted to team to play in order to feel much better about themselves. Playing with purpose, confidence and not letting one mistake bury the team are just a few of the things that had been talked about during the winless streak.
Getting contributions from up and down the lineup helps as well. The Flyers got that on Saturday as Gerry Mayhew, Cam Atkinson and Laughton scored. Mayhew, specifically, has found himself a role on the team’s third line and is certainly playing with the confidence that the team wants to see from each and every player. This isn’t Mayhew’s first NHL stint, but it has the makings of his longest if he’s able to continue playing the way he has. He’s appeared in 11 games thus far, the most since he played in 13 games with Minnesota in 2019-20.
His line, featuring Max Willman and Morgan Frost, has gelled well together. Their familiarity from playing together in Lehigh Valley has helped. Frost was absent from the Flyers last practice due to illness so he will be a game time decision this evening.
Carter Hart, coming off a strong effort, will be looking to help the team win their second game in a row. It would be the first time they’ve done that since December 18th and 29th.
Projected Lineup
Lindblom – Giroux – Atkinson
van Riemsdyk – Laughton – Konecny
Mayhew – Frost – Willman
Ratcliffe – Bunnaman – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Yandle – York
Hart
Winnipeg Jets
Record: 18-16-7 (43 points, 6th in Central)
The Jets were in the midst of their own losing streak before a 4-1 victory over the Blues on Saturday. Before that, they had gone 0-4-2 in their last six games. Paul Stastny had two goals for Winnipeg in the victory.
Winnipeg will see Josh Morrissey return to the lineup after missing the last three games while in COVID protocol. He’s three goals away from setting a new career high in said category. He will try to help the Jets do something they haven’t done in Philadelphia since 2012. They are 0-7-1 at the Wells Fargo Center since the shootout victory in 2012. They’ve scored 14 goals in those eight games while the Flyers had 29 goals.
After getting the night off on Saturday, Connor Hellebuyck will tend the net once again for the Jets. Being on the West Coast, he has only faced Philadelphia six times, going 3-3-0 in those games. He has a respectable 2.67 GAA and a .914 SV% in said matchups. Overall, he’s 14-4-6 to go along with his 2.93 GAA and .909 SV%.
Projected Lineup
Copp – Scheifele – Wheeler
Connor – Dubois – Perfetti
Stastny – Lowry – Poganski
Harkins – Toninato – Vesalainen
Dillon – Schmidt
Heinola – Pionk
Morrissey – Kovacevic
Hellebuyck
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Where: Wells Fargo Center
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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