Stanley Cup Champs Roll Into Town to Take on Flyers
The Flyers snapped a 10-game losing streak only to drop their next two games to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the New Jersey Devils. This week, the Flyers finish their five-game homestand before embarking on a four-game road trip.
Up first are the defending Stanley Cup Champion Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have struggled a little this year, but are part of a jumbled group of teams in the Central Division that keep flip-flopping places. This will be yet another tough team for the Flyers to face off against.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 8-12-5 (21 points, 7th in Metro)
This is a team that is sinking fast. If they are not careful, they could find themselves in last place behind the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets; who have beaten us twice by the way. There is not a lot to be optimistic about this team’s chances. This is a team that is 31st in goals scored, 20th in goals given up, 24th on the penalty kill, 29th in penalties taken (although a lot of that is Nic Deslauriers and his fighting), and dead last in the league with a pathetic 14.1% on the power play. And yet…
Coach John Tortorella refuses to talk badly about this team. He’ll admit when mental mistakes have hurt them, but time and time again he has defended this team from criticism. He has stated over and over again that he is pleased with the effort this team puts out. They may lose, but they are giving all they have in each loss. The vets are playing for pride. The young guys are playing for ice time and to prove that they belong. He fully believes that this team will turn it around at some point. But for now, they gotta suck it up buttercup.
Travis Konecny has come back from an injury and has scored in both of his games. Scott Laughton has returned and is playing at his consistent level. Kevin Hayes has cooled down somewhat but is still someone that this team has been leaning on, as is waiver wire pickup Lukas Sedlak.
Projected Lineup
Kevin Hayes – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Scott Laughton – Lukas Sedlak – Owen Tippett
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Zack MacEwen
Nicolas Deslauriers – Patrick Brown – Tanner Laczynski
Ivan Provorov – Rasmus Ristolainen
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Nick Seeler – Tony DeAngelo
Carter Hart
Colorado Avalanche
Record: 13-8-1 (27 points, 4th in Central)
Despite carrying over virtually the same roster, this is an Avs team that is struggling right now. Granted, they aren’t struggling like the Flyers are, but being in fourth place in their division and the current #8 seed in the West is not where you would expect to find the defending Stanley Cup champions. They are a little banged up with Artturi Lehkonen leaving Saturday’s game early and Josh Manson doing the same on Thursday.
With that said, they are still a dangerous team. They have the league’s best power play unit at a blistering 32.5% and have given up the fourth fewest goals in the NHL. This is a final game of a four-game road trip that saw Colorado lose in Winnipeg, beat Buffalo, and get rocked by Boston 5-1 on Saturday.
Speedy star Nathan MacKinnon comes into Philly with 33 total points and eight goals. Leading Colorado with goals is Mikko Rantanen with 14 goals and 17 assists. Cale Makar leads the defenders with six goals and 17 assists and we still wonder what he would’ve done donning orange and black instead of burgundy and blue. Sigh….
Alexandar Georgiev is the starting goalie, with an 11-3-1 record, a GAA of 2.58, one shutout, and a .922 save percentage. Backup goalie Pavel Francouz is 2-5, but also boasts a respectable 3.03 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Whomever the Flyers face, it will be formidable; especially with that defense in front of the netminders.
Projected Lineup
Alex Galchenyuk– Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Kaut
Charles Hudon – Alex Newhook – Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Cogliano – J.T. Compher – Logan O’Connor
Dryden Hunt – Jayson Megna – Anton Blidh
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson
Jacob MacDonald – Andreas Englund
Alexandar Georgiev
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
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