The Flyers are in Tampa Bay to continue their three-game road trip. Before facing their Florida counterpart, Philadelphia will first see the Lightning.
Both teams are looking for a win to break their respective losing streaks. Tampa has lost three straight while the Flyers have lost their last two. It’s more bleak for Philadelphia as they sit in last place in the NHL after a win by San Jose a few days ago.
It hasn’t been pretty for the Lightning either. They’re just above .500 with a 7-6-0 record. It’s too early to look at records to make any big determinations about a team. But both are not where they want to be.
Philadelphia Flyers
One of the biggest focuses for the Flyers will be finding a way to get the puck on net. They had 16 against Carolina, a combined six in the final two periods. They managed 20 against Boston, but never more than eight in a period. Even in their wins against the Blues and Bruins, Philadelphia had 21 and 19 shots respectively.
They are led by Owen Tippett, who has 11 shots in that stretch. He’s the only one with double-digit numbers in the four games. 19 of the 20 skaters who have played at least one game have a shot on goal so they are spreading things around. But they need more players to step up and provide offense.
The Flyers will have to do that without their leader in points, Matvei Michkov. He will be a healthy scratch against the Lightning. It’s been a struggle for the rookie the last few games so this was a long time coming. He may not be the only one out, though. Aleksei Kolosov was the projected starter, but he left the morning skate early with a trainer. It appears Ivan Fedotov will start and the Flyers might have to use an EBUG behind him.
Flyers Projected Roster
Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Bobby Brink
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Garnet Hathaway
Nic Deslauriers - Noah Cates - Anthony Richard
Travis Sanheim - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae - Egor Zamula
Ivan Fedotov
Tampa Bay Lightning
A week ago, the Lightning were sitting nice with a 7-3-0 record. They had won three straight games, one of which was a shutout against Washington. Since then, they’ve dropped three straight games and have allowed 15 goals against. A team struggling to score in the Flyers is likely what they need.
Someone not struggling with their offense is Nikita Kucherov. He leads Tampa with 10 goals and 22 points. Eight of those points have come in the last four games. Kucherov also has 31 career points in 26 games against the Flyers. Brayden Point is behind Kucherov in goals, but he’s expected to miss his second straight game. That’s good for the Flyers as he has 17 career points in 16 games and a four-game point streak against Philadelphia.
Andrei Vasilevskiy is back to being the main man between the pipes for Tampa. He has been in net for the last two losses, though. It’s been an odd stretch for him this year. He has won three straight and lost three straight in all of his games this season. Could that mean he’s due for another tonight?
Lightning Projected Roster
Jake Guentzel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Nick Paul -- Mitchell Chaffee
Gage Goncalves -- Conor Geekie -- Cam Atkinson
Zemgus Girgensons -- Luke Glendening -- Michael Eyssimont
Victor Hedman -- J.J. Moser
Ryan McDonagh -- Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg -- Nick Perbix
Andrei Vasilevskiy
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: Amalie Arena
Watch: ESPN+/Hulu
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
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