The Philadelphia Flyers have started their road trip on a high note, winning a tight match against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday--the losing streak ended at six. The Flyers won that one on the back of Travis Konecny--who scored both goals--willing his team to win, and Sam Ersson posted a .960 save percentage as the Golden Knights fired away. They found a way to win against a superior opponent.
Tonight, they face the Utah Mammoth, who've won three straight and are back in a wildcard spot. Things got a bit rocky for the Mammoth midway through the season, but they've since recovered and are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Hard to believe it's only their second season in Salt Lake City, but they've got a real chance to make the playoffs this year as a wildcard in the top-heavy Central Division.
Three Storylines
Discipline, discipline, discipline
Though the Flyers managed to beat the Knights, they didn't make it easy on themselves, taking seven (7!) penalties that night; they're very lucky the Vegas power play, a top-five unit, didn't make them pay. Utah, by contrast, has a power play in the league's basement, only a few tenths of a percent better than the Flyers' own league-worst power play.
Even so, you're playing with fire giving any opponent that many cracks at the man advantage, because you'll get burned eventually. The Flyers need to play smarter and stay out of the box.
As other veterans step up, Sean Couturier needs to follow suit
Travis Konecny scored the Flyers' only goals against the Knights, and both were unassisted--he refused to let the Flyers lose that game. Against the New York Rangers, Travis Sanheim had a goal and an assist. Sean Couturier, however, has one point (an assist) in his last seven games; of the Flyers' leadership group, he's been the only one who hasn't fully stepped up to support the scoring. Tonight's a night for him to prove the doubters wrong.
The bottom line
The Flyers recalled Lane Pederson, who played in the victory over the Knights. Coaches usually don't tweak the lineup after a win, so we should expect to see him suit up again--but that means Nikita Grebenkin likely takes a seat once more. While it does make sense, since Pederson is a center, Grebenkin shouldn't be sitting in the press box for long, which is why there's still an opportunity to play Trevor Zegras at center and move everyone into a better position.