Philadelphia Flyers host Kings in last home game before break
By Scott Cole
The last time these two teams met, the Flyers stunned the Los Angeles Kings. It was a 4-2 victory, the second of two straight wins. It was also the second game that started this 9-4 run the Flyers have been on.
As of right now, the Kings are third in the Pacific Division and are reasonably comfy in fifth place, overall, in the Western Conference. The Flyers, likewise, are still outside looking in. However, their surge has them knocking on the door of the playoffs. Can the Flyers repeat their New Year’s Eve victory over the Kings or will LA return the favor and drop Philly?
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 20-21-7 (47 points, 7th in Metro)
As stated, the Flyers took down the Kings in the final game of 2022. A lot has changed since these two teams met up. Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes are both hot right now. The team is scoring more often and letting in fewer goals. The team is improving.
The Flyers are catching up to the NY Islanders in the standings. The Isles have struggled a lot lately with injuries to Kyle Palmieri and Adam Pelech, both of whom are just coming off of IR. More wins for Philly means the Flyers could overtake them in the standings.
The Flyers had a rough night against Winnipeg but bounced back to tie the game. Simple mistakes cost them against one of the NHL’s best. But the Flyers saw they could stand toe-to-toe with one of the top-tier teams. That confidence should spill over into this game. If the Flyers can come out, just as they did against LA a few weeks ago, this should be a win and a season sweep.
Flyers Projected Lineup
James van Riemsdyk — Morgan Frost — Owen Tippett
Joel Farabee — Noah Cates — Travis Konecny
Kevin Hayes — Scott Laughton — Wade Allison
Nicolas Deslauriers — Patrick Brown — Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov — Cam York
Travis Sanheim — Tony DeAngelo
Nick Seeler — Rasmus Ristolainen
Carter Hart
Los Angeles Kings
Record: 26-17-8 (58 points,3rd in Pacific)
Since that New Year’s Eve game, the Kings have struggled. They are 5-4, having defeated Dallas, Vegas, Edmonton, San Jose, and Chicago, but losing to Boston, New Jersey, Dallas, and Nashville. They are on game three on a five-game road trip having just defeated Chicago 2-1.
It’s a team that scores quite a bit (12th in the league) but also gives up their fair share (24th). Kevin Fiala leads the team with 49 points, including 16 goals and 33 assists. Adrian Kempe leads LA with 19 goals. In the previous game, only Kempe and Phillip Danault scored.
In net is veteran Jonathan Quick. He still has a great hockey IQ but his age is catching up with him. He has a goals-against average this year of 3.34 and a save percentage of .884. The backup goalies are not much better. This is good because the Flyers will face primary backup, Pheonix Copley. His GAA is 2.79 and his save percentage is .896.
If the Flyers come out strong and focused, they should pick up a win here. If they come out slow and sluggish, as they did against the Blackhawks OR if they allow the Kings to get a big lead early on, as Winnipeg did, the Flyers will surely lose.
Kings Projected Lineup
Quinton Byfield — Anze Kopitar — Adrian Kempe
Alex Iafallo — Phillip Danault — Viktor Arvidsson
Kevin Fiala — Blake Lizotte — Jaret Anderson-Dolan
Brendan Lemieux — Rasmus Kupari — Samuel Fagemo
Mikey Anderson — Drew Doughty
Sean Durzi — Matt Roy
Alexander Edler — Sean Walker
Pheonix Copley
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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