Can Flyers Finish Road Trip With a Win?
By Scott Cole
The last time the Flyers tangled with the Edmonton Oilers, Philly escaped with a shootout victory; their first such win of the year. Now, we are a few weeks removed from that game. The Oilers will seek to get revenge for such a loss. Hopefully the Flyers have enough firepower to stop them.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 23-25-10 (56 points, 7th in Metro)
This Flyers team is getting harder and harder to put your finger on. You expect them to beat the Vancouver Canucks and they get pummeled by a team that is purposely trying to lose. Then they turn it around and drop the Flames 4-3 two nights later. You try to figure them out.
But the Flames game was an interesting one. First, Travis Sanheim was benched. He joins a crop of Flyers players like Travis Konecny, Tony DeAngelo, and Kevin Hayes on the “sit down club”. It was done in order to get Sanheim moving again and play more consistently. In each case so far, the tactic has worked. One worries if that won’t be the case at some point. Either way, Sanheim should be back in the lineup.
Travis Konecny was injured in the Calgary game. The extent is unclear as of yet. It can go either way, as of right now, if he will play. The Flyers can use him right now as he has scored three goals in the last two games. However, he will miss tonight’s game. Wade Allison will take his place on the second line, Nic Desaluariers will fill in on third line with Joel Farabee centering the fourth line with Olle Lycksell and Kieffer Bellows.
In the last matchup, Carter Hart was spectacular. He hung on and got the win against a very dynamic Edmonton team. He’s been a little rusty as of late against teams like Seattle. But how much of that has been him and how much has been his defense?
Flyers Projected Lineup
James van Riemsdyk — Morgan Frost — Owen Tippett
Kevin Hayes — Scott Laughton — Wade Allison
Nicolas Deslauriers — Noah Cates — Patrick Brown
Olle Lycksell — Joel Farabee — Kieffer Bellows
Cam York — Rasmus Ristolainen
Ivan Provorov — Justin Braun
Nick Seeler — Tony DeAngelo
Carter Hart
Edmonton Oilers
Record: 30-19-8 (68 points, 4th in Pacific)
The Oilers should be better than this. They are the top scoring team in the NHL and the most lethal power play. Yet, they are spinning their tires. Since they played the Flyers, they are 1-3-1 against Ottawa (the lone win), Montreal, Detroit, Rangers, and Avalanche. At least you get a point in an OT loss, but you really need to get two points this time of year.
Evander Kane has missed some games recently as had Klim Kostin. This team is also in the market for a defender. If you read any NHL rumor site, including this one, a lot of Flyers defenders are apparently “for sale”. Maybe this would be a good place for the Oilers to kick the tires in on one and see what they like. As is, the Oilers will be playing with seven defenders.
In the first matchup, presumptive MVP Connor McDavid was held to just an assist while Leon Draisaitl was held shotless. I do not expect that happen twice…but if it does, it will go a long way into helping the Flyers win this one.
Oilers Projected Lineup
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins — Connor McDavid — Zach Hyman
Mattias Janmark — Leon Draisaitl — Kailer Yamamoto
Devin Shore — Ryan McLeod — Warren Foegele
Derek Ryan — Jesse Puljujarvi
Darnell Nurse — Cody Ceci
Brett Kulak — Tyson Barrie
Philip Broberg — Evan Bouchard
Vincent Desharnais
Stuart Skinner
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 9 PM
Where: Rogers Place
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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