After Scott Laughton's big night against Detroit, the Flyers will take their winning ways to Minnesota. They'll face one of the best teams in the NHL in the Wild.
The last time these two teams faced, they scored a combined 12 goals. Six of those goals came in a wild third period. Sean Couturier had three of those for his first hat trick of the season. That was one of Minnesota's rare losses this season.
Since Philadelphia saw them at the end of October, the Wild have only lost six more times. This is not going to be easy for the Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have played well over their last 10 games and will need to bring that same energy against the Wild. They cannot afford to go back and forth with a Minnesota team, who is tied for the lowest amount of goals allowed per game at 2.55. Just because Philadelphia put up seven against them last game, doesn't mean it'll happen again. The Flyers will have to be sharp from the beginning.
Five of Sean Couturier's 15 points this season have come against the Wild. He posted a career-best five point night back in October. Three of his six goals were in that game. It has not been a strong season offensively for the team's captain. They'll need more from him, as well as other contributors, if they want to move their winning streak to three games.
Ssam Ersson will make his third start since returning from injury. He was in net the last time these two teams faced. While he earned the win, Ersson would like to have a better showing than the 5.02 GAA he sported at the end of that game. He's allowed seven goals in his most recent two games, though he won his last game against Columbus.
Flyers Projected Roster
Joel Farabee - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula - Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler - Jamie Drysdale
Sam Ersson
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota is coming off their worst loss of the season, a 7-1 demolishing by the Oilers. It's the second time they've allowed seven goals, the last coming against Philadelphia. They've lost two of their last three games. But more often than not, the Wild have come to play.
They are led in scoring by Kirill Kaprizov. His 43 points are also third in the NHL and nearly 20 more than his next closest teammate. His 18 goals are six more than teammate Matt Boldy, who is behind him in points as well. Marco Rossi is still rather new to the NHL, playing his first full season last year. He's off to a good start this season with 10 goals and 24 points, both on pace to break his highs from last season.
With Filip Gustavsson in net for a majority of the loss to Edmonton, Marc-Andre Fleury will be the starter against Philadelphia. Since joining Minnesota, Fleury has solid numbers against the Flyers, posting a 2.64 GAA and a .917 SV% in four outings. This season, he has a 2.71 GAA and a .905 SV%.
Wild Projected Roster
Kirill Kaprizov - Marco Rossi - Matt Boldy
Marcus Foligno - Ryan Hartman - Marcus Johansson
Jakub Lauko - Frederick Gaudreau - Yakov Trenin
Devin Shore - Marat Khusnutdinov - Ben Jones
Declan Chisholm - Jared Spurgeon
Travis Dermott - Brock Faber
Jon Merrill - Zach Bogosian
Marc-Andre Fleury
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 2:00 PM
Where: Xcel Energy Center
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTv
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