Claude Giroux Returns To Philly As Flyers Face Senators
After playing against the Flyers for the first time in his career, Claude Giroux will make his long-awaited return to the Wells Fargo Center. It is sure to be an emotional game as it will be the first time he steps into the building as a visitor.
While it won’t be the first time he plays against Philadelphia, that won’t make this game any less exciting. Giroux is sure to get a friendly welcome from the fans as his former team will try to make sure that’s the only exciting part of the afternoon.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 7-4-2 (16 points, 5th in Metro)
While this will be emotional for Giroux, the Flyers have to make sure they don’t get caught up in things as well. It may help that they’ve played against their former captain already. But this will certainly be a different feeling. The focus needs to be on the task at hand and that is getting back into the win column after a rough game against Columbus.
The Flyers were very careless with the puck as the Blue Jackets took advantage of the turnovers in their 5-2 victory. It will be a hungry Senators team on the other side as they’ll be looking to stop the losing streak from reaching eight games. It’ll be another moment for the Flyers to show that they have the capability to bounce back and assert themselves against a lesser opponent. Similar to what they did against the Blues earlier this week.
If they continue to get contributions from lower in their lineup, it’ll go a long way to helping that. Lukas Sedlak, Zack MacEwen, and Noah Cates have been an effective trio for John Tortorella. While they aren’t likely to keep up their offensive production, it’s clear they have earned the trust of their new head coach. Any type of effectiveness the Flyers can get from their bottom six can certainly help energize the rest of the group.
Enough can be said about the boost that the team gets from Carter Hart. He suffered his first regulation loss against the Blue Jackets, but it didn’t help that the team in from of him was their own worst enemy when it came to puck possession. Nonetheless, Hart is still among the top five in save percentage and is second in goals against average. He is easily why the Flyers are where they are.
As for what the actual lineup may look like, that is to be determined. Lines and pairings were juggled during the game against the Blue Jackets. Tortorella could make some changes as the team faces a back-to-back this weekend. For now, this is what the team went with to start Thursday night’s game, but don’t be surprised if this isn’t what comes out against the Senators.
Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett – Kevin Hayes – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Scott Laughton – Wade Allison
Lukas Sedlak – Noah Cates – Zack MacEwen
Nicolas Deslauriers – Morgan Frost – Tanner Laczynski
Ivan Provorov – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Nick Seeler – Rasmus Ristolainen
Carter Hart
Ottawa Senators
Record: 4-8-1 (9 points, 8th in Atlantic)
It has been a rough skid for the Senators as they have gone 0-7-1 in their last eight games. Their last game against the Devils was a back-and-forth affair in which no team held more than a one-goal lead. All of their losses on this skid have been by less than two goals, four of them being separated by just a goal.
That can be tough on a team that made some big moves in the off-season to be more competitive. Aside from signing Giroux, they also brought in Alex DeBrincat as well. Unfortunately for the Senators, DeBrincat hasn’t quite found his scoring touch yet. He has just two goals in 13 games, though his nine assists are tied for second on the team.
For Giroux, things have been going well as he sits second on the team with seven goals and is third with 12 points. One of the stars for Ottawa has been Shane Pinto who has nine goals in 13 games this season, the most he has ever played in a season with Ottawa. Drake Batherson has also played well, registering 13 points in 13 games.
Anton Forsberg has had the lion’s share of starts for Ottawa, appearing in 10 games. While he gave up four goals in the overtime loss to the Devils, he did make 41 saves. In comparison, the Senators had 28 shots. So Forsberg did everything he good. But it is Cam Talbot who is expected to be in the net for the Senators. He’s looking for his first win of the season.
Projected Lineup
Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Claude Giroux
Alex DeBrincat – Derick Brassard – Drake Batherson
Tyler Motte – Shane Pinto – Mathieu Joseph
Parker Kelly – Mark Kastelic – Austin Watson
Thomas Chabot — Jacob Bernard-Docker
Jake Sanderson — Travis Hamonic
Erik Brannstrom — Nick Holden
Cam Talbot
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 1 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NHL Network
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
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