After an overtime loss to the Rangers, the Flyers are off to Toronto for the second half of a back to back. It is their second such situation of the season, having split the earlier one. They will look to do the same this evening.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 5-2-2 (12 points, 4th in Metro)
The Flyers are coming off of back to back losses in overtime. Now, if you have to lose a game, an OT loss is the way to do it; at least you get a point out of your efforts. And to be fair, a battered and bruised team that takes the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers into overtime, only to fall in the final minute of extra play is doing okay. These were the top two teams in the division last year and it shows a lot of growth by the Flyers to be able to go toe-to-toe with them.
Monday’s loss was a 1-0 affair. Carter Hart, once again, played his heart out in a 38 save loss. Not much more you can ask from your star goalie.
The biggest issue is getting them goals. The Flyers have fallen to 31st overall in goals scored. A big part of that is not having Cam Atkinson, Sean Couturier, and James van Riemsdyk in the lineup. That is an entire line of forwards! And a dang good one to boot.
Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny led the team with four shots on goal each against the Rangers. That’s a nice bit of pressure by two linemates, but they gotta start finding the back of the net. Maybe John Tortorella will have to start adjusting lines to see if different combos work or if spreading out some of the top scorers on two lines can help. A lot of pressure is being placed on waiver pickups and young players. They are holding their own, but lately, their efforts are not translating into wins.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny
Noah Cates – Scott Laughton – Owen Tippett
Kieffer Bellows – Tanner Laczynski – Zack MacEwen
Nicolas Deslauriers – Lukas Sedlak – Wade Allison
Ivan Provorov – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Egor Zamula
Felix Sandstrom
Toronto Maple Leafs
Record: 4-4-2 (10 points, 7th in Atlantic)
Every year, hockey/sports publications say that this is the year that the Toronto Maple Leafs end the longest Stanley Cup drought in the NHL (Flyers are fourth…whoo hoo!) And every year, the Leafs have a Chicago Cub like ability to throw it all away and disappoint their fans yet again (sounds familiar, doesn’t it….)
The Leafs have a loaded roster. They have a team that looks good on paper. And yet…..
This team has lost four in a row. The Flyers should pounce on this and make it five. During this stretch, the Leafs are being outscored 15-9. The Flyers do have a problem scoring, however this team could help the orange and black shake out of that. If they can do that, Philly can come out of this one with a solid victory.
Let’s face it, Auston Matthews is wasting his prime in Toronto. He is one of the best players in hockey. He is 25 and he hasn’t even sniffed a Stanley Cup championship. He is putting up good numbers this year, three goals and five assists. For his career, Matthews has scored four goals with seven assists in 12 games against the Flyers. William Nylander and John Tavares both lead the team with four goals and 10 points.
But after them, the scoring shudders. They are 25th overall in scoring. The weird thing is, they are the 12th best team in hockey on the power play at 24.3 PP%. However, they are 22nd on the penalty kill. So, keeping this team from getting on the power play is essential to a victory. Putting them on the penalty kill will help too.
When it comes to their goalies, Ilya Samsonov leads the way. He is 4-2-0 with a 2.35 GAA and a save percentage of .920.
Projected Lineup
Michael Bunting – Auston Matthews – Mitchell Marner
Alexander Kerfoot – John Tavares – William Nylander
Pierre Engvall – Pontus Holmberg – Calle Jarnkrok
Zach Aston-Reese – David Kampf – Denis Malgin
Morgan Rielly – Victor Mete
TJ Brodie – Justin Holl
Mark Giordano – Rasmus Sandin
Ilya Samsonov
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7 PM
Where: Madison Square Garden
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
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