Flyers Next Stop on Road Trip is St. Louis
By Scott Cole
After playing some of their best hockey of the season, the Flyers have suddenly crashed back down to Earth again. But this is typical of the season they’ve had so far this year. They got bulldozed by Buffalo before getting swept by the Pens.
Now, Philadelphia heads to St. Louis. The Blues, much like the Flyers, are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. At this point, both of these teams are playing for pride. Philly won the first matchup in November, 5-1. Can they repeat?
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 30-34-13 (73 points, 7th in Metro)
Well, the point streak was nice while it lasted. Can’t play well in them all (unless you are Boston). But speaking of point streak, Morgan Frost has been on fire. He has six points (4G, 2A) in his last four games. He is two goals away from reaching the 20-goal mark, behind only Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett.
Speaking of Konecny, he’s back! He’s also scored goals in his last two games. He is sitting at 29 goals; one shy of breaking the 30-goal mark for the first in his career. With six games left, he should be able to do that. Likewise, Scott Laughton has 18 goals; also a career-high. Hopefully, he can hit the 20-goal plateau for the first time as well.
Sam Ersson gets the start in net while Carter Hart is still out. While Hart is not expected to miss the rest of the season, as in past years, the backups have been carrying the load. Ersson lost his game against Pittsburgh and hasn’t won since he topped Calgary in February.
Rasmus Ristolainen will be a game-time decision after missing the Flyers’ last game. Ronnie Attard will make his season debut, regardless of whether Ristolainen playing or not. His usage, however, will be determined by the former’s status.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee – Noah Cates – Wade Allison
Travis Konecny – Morgan Frost – Owen Tippett
James van Riemsdyk- Kevin Hayes – Scott Laughton
Nicolas Deslauriers – Brendan Lemieux
Ivan Provorov – Cam York
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Tony DeAngelo
Ronnie Attard
Sam Ersson
St Louis Blues
Record: 36-35-7 (77 points, 6th in Central)
Much like the Flyers, the Blues have been super streaky all year. They were down, they surged up, they got hurt, they fell back, and they traded some players at the deadline, but at the same time, they mysteriously picked up some. Huh…..So they are going for it while rebuilding? Not sure what’s going on in St. Louis.
Either way, they were just knocked out of the playoff hunt. This is the first time in five seasons that the Blues won’t be playing past the regular season. They are also coming off of two losses: a 6-1 pummeling by Nashville and a 4-3 loss to Boston.
This team can score (14th overall), but they struggle on defense (29th in goals against). Likewise, everyone’s favorite goalie to hate, Jordan Binnington has had an off-year with a 3.39 GAA and a save percentage of .891.
Former Flyer Brayden Schenn is still a Blue. He is third on the team with 21 goals and fourth with 62 points. The star of this team is center Jordan Kyrou who has 36 goals in just his third season of full-time play. Robert Thomas, who will be a game-time decision, has also put up solid numbers and is fifth on the team with 17 goals and third on the team with 63 points.
Projected Lineup
Brandon Saad – Brayden Schenn – Jordan Kyrou
Jake Neighbours – Kasperi Kapanen – Jakub Vrana
Sammy Blais – Logan Brown – Josh Leivo
Alexey Toropchenko – Nathan Walker – Tyler Pitlick
Nick Leddy – Colton Parayko
Torey Krug – Justin Faulk
Calle Rosen – Matthew Kessel
Jordan Binnington
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 8 PM
Where: Enterprise Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: FuboTV
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