After a lifeless loss to the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers desperately need a win to get back in the playoff race ahead of the Olympic break. Tonight, the Flyers head to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets, who've had an overall disappointing season after last year's last-minute playoff miss.
However, the Blue Jackets have shown signs of life lately. Earlier this month, head coach Dean Evason was fired and replaced with Rick Bowness. Since then, the Jackets have gone 5-1-0. They're a young team with clear shortcomings, but they have the firepower to outscore many of their issues--look no further than their recent 8-5 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Three Storylines
Dan Vladar returns to the crease
As head coach Rick Tocchet hinted at earlier this week, goaltender Dan Vladar is indeed back from injury. Vladar gets the start tonight and, given Sam Ersson's highs and lows, the Flyers need the steadiness he's brought all season.
If the Flyers hope to win a few of the games remaining before the Olympic break, Vladar will be a key component. His return also means that Aleksei Kolosov has been loaned back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL, and the Flyers will ride with Vladar and Ersson as their tandem.
Running into another hot team
The story of January for the Flyers really seems to focus on running into one hot team after another: the Tampa Bay Lightning during their win streak, the Buffalo Sabres winning 13 of 15, and now the Blue Jackets in the midst of a new coach bump. The Flyers fared well against the Vegas Golden Knights, ending their seven-game winning streak, but they need to do better at finding ways to beat teams that're firing on all cylinders.
Egor Zamula, from the other side
Earlier this season, the Flyers waived Egor Zamula, then traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Philip Tomasino. Zamula promptly failed to report to the Wilkes-Barre Penguins in the AHL, was suspended, and had his contract terminated.
As a free agent, Zamula signed with the Blue Jackets and is projected to be in the lineup tonight. He has one point--an assist--and is averaging 15:38 of ice time, largely in a third-pair role, since joining Columbus. It will be interesting to see how he's acclimating to and playing within a new system.