If you wanted a good test of how the Flyers are doing right now, this game will be it. The reigning Metropolitan Division champion Carolina Hurricanes are blowing into town on Saturday. Time to batten down the hatches and secure the mizenmast. If the Flyers can come out of this game with a win, it will go a long way to showing how far this team has come in the last year. But it won’t be easy.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 5-2-0 (10 points, 1st in Metro)
The Flyers are coming off of a comeback 4-3 win against the Florida Panthers. The Panthers dealt the Flyers their first loss of the season last week. As of right now, Philadelphia stands at 5-2-0 on the season and in second place….of the Eastern Conference standings and are atop the Metro Division; tied with the New Jersey Devils. They are one point above the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins who are scoring like they are possessed, and the Hurricanes.
Ok, ok….it’s wayyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to be thinking about that stuff, but it’s a good start. The Flyers have been scrapping out wins and playing well despite falling behind early in games and despite a plethora of injuries. If they can keep this up, the turnaround for this team might not take that long.
Carter Hart put up a career high of 48 saves against Florida on Thursday night and improved to 5-0 on the season. It may be likely he’ll get to take a break on Saturday against the Canes. However, since he’s only played one game since Saturday of last week (Thursday), look for Hart to get the start. A test like the Canes will go a long way into seeing how sharp he is.
Speaking of being sharp, our forwards have rebounded this week. It looks like getting benched didn’t put Kevin Hayes or Travis Konecny in a funk. They both responded in the way that John Tortorella would’ve wanted. Both players had two assists each during the victory over Florida. Hayes is the team leader with 10 points with one goal scored. TK leads the team with four goals and also has eight points.
This game will also be the first time that blueliner Tony DeAngelo faces off against his former team since the big trade this summer. Tony D found himself in a sort of “hockey purgatory” after a series of off the ice issues lead to him being released by the New York Rangers. He signed a deal with the Carolina Hurricanes on a below market value to prove that he still belonged in the NHL. He cleaned up his act and had a career year. The Flyers are reaping the benefits of that now with DeAngelo being third on the team with six points and having chipped in two goals.
This will also be the second game that both Owen Tippett and Rasmus Ristolainen play in after returning from injuries. Tippett played for 18 minutes and had an assist. Risto was used for only 14 minutes, as the Flyers had seven defenders in the game. During his time on the ice, however, he did deliver two hits.
Also hitting the ice will be former first rounder Kieffer Bellows. Bellows was recently picked up on waivers by the Flyers and will be making his debut wearing the orange and black. With a lot of key Flyers hurt, this could be a chance for him to showcase his talents and stick with the team.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny
Noah Cates – Scott Laughton – Owen Tippett
Kieffer Bellows – Morgan Frost – Zack MacEwen
Nicolas Deslauriers – Lukas Sedlak – Wade Allison
Ivan Provorov – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Justin Braun
Carter Hart
Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 4-2-1 (9 points, 3rd in Metro)
Had the Hurricanes defeated the Islanders last night, they’d be in first. Instead, Mat Barzal, Brock Nelson, and Co. had other ideas and they dropped the Canes, 6-2. In hockey terms, that was a butt-whoopin.
Carolina started off hot this year, winning their first three games, scoring 11 goals while giving up only three. Then they hit wall. They’ve won just one of their last four games, defeating Vancouver while falling on the road to Edmonton and Calgary before last night’s home loss to the Isles. And now, after a one game home stand, they travel up I-95 to face Philly.
This is a well balanced team. They do not commit a lot of penalties (3rd best in the league). They are a strong defensive team, giving up just 20 goals this season (good for 7th best….Flyers are tied for 3rd best at 17).
Former Flyer Rod Brind’Amour has turned this team into a force. They do not make a lot of mistakes and wait for you make one. They have the speed to capitalize on the transition and make you pay for it. Their strength the last few seasons have been on the power play and penalty kill, which they’ve been struggling with.
It’s no surprise that forward Sebastian Aho leads the team with nine points. And he loves playing against the Flyers, In 21 games, he has scored 22 points with 10 goals; including his first career hat trick. He has only scored more against the Panthers.
His teammate, Andrei Svechnikov, is another scoring threat and leads the team with seven goals. Thankfully, he has scored only twice in 12 contests against Philly. Martin Necas is running hot lately, scoring four goals. Outside of these three players, only one other player, Seth Jarvis (2), has scored more than one goal.
The Canes have been deep the last few years, but have been struggling to get things going consistently offensively lately. But offense isn’t the only place they are struggling.
Over the last few years, they’ve had a rotation of goalies coming in and out. Think of the Flyers in the post-Bryz/pre-Hart era. And yes, we understand why that doesn’t work. Frederik Andersen has seen the lion’s share of the games, but he was in net last night, giving up five goals before being pulled at the end of the game. Look for Antti Raanta to start. He’s started in just one game and gave up four goals in the win.
Projected Lineup
Teuvo Teravainen – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Andrei Svechnikov – Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Martin Necas
Jordan Martinook – Jordan Staal – Jesper Fast
Stefan Noesen – Paul Stastny – Derek Stepan
Jaccob Slavin – Brent Burns
Brady Skjei – Brett Pesce
Dylan Coghlan – Jalen Chatfield
Antti Raanta
Where, When and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
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