Flyers Return Home to Face Habs
The last time these two teams faced off, the Flyers scored early, fell behind, tied it back up, but fell in the shootout to Montreal. This was part of the 10 game losing streak in November and was probably the hardest loss during that stretch.
Now the Habs are coming to Philly. This is a Canadiens team that is playing poorly and seems to be in the tanking sweepstakes. For a Flyers team in transition, this should be an easy win. However, when faced with teams like this before, the Flyers come stumbling out and fall apart…as they did against the Blackhawks and just recently against the Canucks.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 23-26-10 (56 points, 7th in Metro)
I don’t care what the records say. This has “trap game” written all over it. It’s a home game as the team returns from a long road trip against a weak opponent just before they hit the road to face off against a long time, bitter (and better) divisional rival, the NJ Devils.
But that’s not the only thing that is scary about this matchup. First of all, Travis Konency will miss his second straight game. He suffered an upper body injury following a behind the back hit against the Calgary Flames. He is the top scorer for this team. For a team that has been anemic at scoring, this is not what they need.
Secondly, Joel Farabee’s camp is reportedly unhappy with Tortorella right now. If he wants to silence his critics, now is the time to do it. Now is the time to showcase that you are a star and deserved to be treated as one. With TK down, step up and be a leader.
This is also one of three games left before the trade deadline. This could be the last time some of the players suit up in orange and black. Some may be distracted and carry that onto the ice. Conversely, this could be a great audition to try to get the attention of needy clubs. It’s also telling that Justin Braun is back in the lineup and that, being down Konecny, the team is going with seven defenders and sitting Kieffer Bellows. It wouldn’t surprised me to see Nick Seeler play some as a fourth liner tonight as a way to make him a more attractive trade bait.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scott Laughton — Kevin Hayes — Wade Allison
James van Riemsdyk — Morgan Frost — Owen Tippett
Olle Lycksell — Noah Cates — Joel Farabee
Nicolas Deslauriers — Patrick Brown
Ivan Provorov — Travis Sanheim
Cam York — Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler — Tony DeAngelo
Justin Braun
Carter Hart
Montreal Canadiens
Record: 24-29-4 (52 points, 8th in Atlantic)
Say what you will, at least the Flyers look like they are trying most nights. The Habs have simply given up. They are near the bottom of every standing in the NHL. However, they have won four of their last six games. And much like the Flyers, there are trade rumors swirling all over the place with this team. Whatever few remaining assets this team have could be traded off soon.
The team will be without defender Chris Wideman who has just been placed in IR. Cole Caufield, who leads the team with 26 goals, is hurt along with Kirby Dach, who is third on the team with 12 goals and 35 points. Nick Suzuki, who leads Montreal with 44 points, is the lone remaining main offensive threat. And Suzuki was the one who stole the shootout game earlier against the Flyers. But again….this smells like a trap game.
Canadiens Projected Lineup
Rafael Harvey-Pinard — Nick Suzuki — Josh Anderson
Rem Pitlick — Christian Dvorak — Evgenii Dadonov
Mike Hoffman — Jonathan Drouin — Jesse Ylonen
Michael Pezzetta — Chris Tierney — Alex Belzile
Mike Matheson — Justin Barron
Corey Schueneman — David Savard
Jordan Harris — Johnathan Kovacevic
Jake Allen
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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