Flyers Face Wings in Saturday Matinee
By Scott Cole
The Flyers have earned a point in four straight games and are 3-1-1 on this homestand. While some fans may be upset at this recent turnaround, it should make most of us excited about what next year has to offer.
Next up on the list are the Detroit Red Wings. Detroit is out of the playoff race for this season, but are still boasting a .500 record. The Flyers have won both matchups so far this year. A win on Saturday would be a nice clean season sweep.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 28-32-12 (68 points, 7th in Metro)
The last time these two teams faced off against each other, it was just after the trade deadline. Nicolas Deslauriers would win the game’s first star after he scored a shorthanded goal. Deslauriers would miss the Minnesota game due to an upper body injury. He was not in practice on Friday either and will miss Saturday’s game as well.
In fact, while the Flyers penalty kill has been average, at best, and their power play has been downright awful, they have been quite adept at scoring shorthanded goals. They are third in the NHL with 10, trailing only Edmonton and Carolina. Scott Laughton leads the team with four such goals.
In other injury related news, Owen Tippett has been a little banged up as well. Tippett did play 22 minutes against the Wild, but sat out Friday’s practice as well. However, Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny were both in practice on Friday wearing contact jerseys. Maybe they will play soon. Maybe not. Either way it is an encouraging sign.
Finally, Tyson Foerster has played in seven games so far this year for Philadelphia. He has scored two goals with four assists. including the goal that tied the score at four apiece against Minnesota against the great Marc-Andre Fleury. He’s shown why he was taken in the first round in 2020. If this is the start of something good, he could be a tour-de-force on a line with Konecny, Tippett, Elliot Desnoyers, and/or Joel Farabee.
Speaking of Farabee, he’s scored goals in the last four games. Hopefully that streak continues today.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee — Noah Cates — Owen Tippett
James van Riemsdyk — Kevin Hayes — Wade Allison
Brendan Lemieux — Morgan Frost — Tyson Foerster
Kieffer Bellows — Scott Laughton
Ivan Provorov — Cam York
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler — Tony DeAngelo
Egor Zamula
Carter Hart
Detroit Red Wings
Record: 31-31-9 (71 points, 7th in Atlantic)
At some point, Detroit is going to regret moving to the Eastern Conference. Since moving in 2013-14, they have never made it to the playoffs. In fact, their playoff drought runs back to the 2010-11 season. So you know what Flyers fans?….It could be a LOT worse. Remember when the Red Wings were among the strongest teams in the NHL. That hasn’t been since George W. Bush was president!
While the Flyers didn’t do much at the trade deadline, Detroit made a major move, trading away Tyler Bertuzzi to Boston…because, you know, the Bruins were lacking for talent this season. It’s as if they’ve given up. However, they’ve acquired quite a few draft picks including a pair of first rounders. With Steve Yzerman as their GM, he may rebuild that team in the mold of Tampa Bay, where he helped to put together the team they have now.
Much like the Flyers, they are still trying to figure out who they are. Let’s hope Philadelphia doesn’t take that long. Detroit has lost four of their last five games. Before that, they split a weekend series with Boston.
Filip Zadina will be out with a lower-body injury. Goalie Ville Husso will also be out as well. Alex Nedeljkovic will get the start as an emergency call up.
And while the Wings no longer have Bertuzzi, they still have Dylan Larkin, who has scored 26 goals with 42 assists. This team may be down and out, but they still have some punch in them.
Projected Lineup
Joe Veleno — Dylan Larkin — Lucas Raymond
Dominik Kubalik — Andrew Copp — David Perron
Matt Luff — Pius Suter — Adam Erne
Jonatan Berggren — Austin Czarnik — Alex Chiasson
Jake Walman — Moritz Seider
Olli Maatta — Robert Hagg
Simon Edvinsson — Jordan Oesterle
Alex Nedeljkovic
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 1 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
fuboTV has live NHL games on ESPN in which you can stream from your phone, television, and all your favorite devices. This is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series. fuboTV is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Spain.