The Flyers will be treating fans in Michigan to a hockey matinee kicking off Saturday’s NHL action at noon as they land in Detroit to take on the Red Wings. They say that familiarity breeds contempt, and Philadelphia could use a little bit of that after dropping the first of back-to-back games against Detroit.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 14-23-8 (36 points, 7th in Metro)
In what may have been the most dispiriting effort of the season against the Red Wings, the Flyers will look for a better showing in Detroit, completing the back end of the home-and-home series.
Philadelphia was consistently outworked in their defensive end by the speedy Red Wings, who used great passing and puck protection to dismantle the Flyers’ defense. It was not so much that the Flyers failed to win puck battles, but failed to engage in them at all. The defense looked content to allow the Red Wings to keep the puck on their sticks until they shot. Given the results of Wednesday’s game, the Flyers should consider being more aggressive in their challenges, particularly forwards on the backcheck.
The Flyers managed to score three goals which were actually rather efficient given the lack of sustained offense through the game. They were badly beaten in possession metrics and shot totals, and still, it did not adequately underscore their futility at keeping the play in the offensive zone.
To make matters worse their powerplay was not only ineffective but looked infuriatingly bad.
Look at this shift by Moritz Seider on the penalty kill. This guy legitimately does it all. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/bslZyhvN3K
— Ryan Hana (@RyanHanaWWP) February 10, 2022
The Flyers’ lack of powerplay scoring greatly diminishes the team’s ability to complete. Claude Giroux and James van Riemsdyk alone should be the foundation of a good powerplay. They have work to do, on and off the man advantage, in order to be ready for the Red Wings.
Projected Lineup
Lindblom – Giroux – Atkinson
van Riemsdyk – Laughton – Konecny
Mayhew – Brassard – Willman
Ratcliffe – Bunnaman – MacEwen
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Connauton
Yandle – Seeler
Hart
Detroit Red Wings
Record: 21-21-6 (48 points, 5th in Atlantic)
The Red Wings looked like a really strong squad as they were dispatching the Flyers on Wednesday, though it is possible that their dominance was exaggerated by Philadelphia’s poor showing. Dylan Larkin, Robby Fabbri, Lucas Raymond, Moritz Seider, and Pius Suter all picked up two points, with 12 players picking up at least one point. It seemed the entire roster feasted on the Flyers.
The key for the Red Wings was the ability of their forwards to carry play in the offensive zone. Once they gained the zone and controlled the puck, it was very difficult for the Flyers to regain the puck. When the Red Wings did lose possession they were quick to close down easy outlets and forced the Flyers to simply clear the puck from their end without possession. This offensive pressure also minimized the Flyers’ offensive chances.
Projected Lineup
Zadina-Larkin-Raymond
Fabbri-Suter-Bertuzzi
Namestnikov-Rasmussen-Erne
Gi. Smith-Veleno-Gagner
DeKeyser-Seider
Staal-Stecher
Oesterle-Lindstrom
Greiss
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 12:00 p.m.
Where: Little Caesars Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio Broadcast: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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