After four days off, the Flyers will try to right the ship against a struggling Blues team. Philadelphia has lost their last four games, while St. Louis has dropped three straight.
The Blues will get a big scoring boost to their lineup, though. And it’s someone the Flyers will need to keep an eye on. Jake Neighbours returns after missing nearly a month due to a broken bone.
Despite the fact that he has only played in nine of the Blues’ 20 games, he is still tied for the team lead in goals (6). The Blues average 2.75 goals-per-game, which is 26th in the league. So they will welcome back one of their best offensive players.
Flyers need to keep a close eye on Jake Neighbours
In his last game before suffering the injury, Neighbours scored two of the Blues four goals before they eventually suffered a 6-4 loss to the Red Wings. Despite the fact that he did break a bone during the game, he played 13:55 and finished the game.
Neighbours brings not only offense into the Blues lineup, he’s someone who is going to fit for his space on the ice and occupy the front of the net. On a line with a playmaker like Robert Thomas and a shoot-first player in Jimmy Snuggerud, Neighbours is going to be the one battling hard for the puck in all areas.
It wouldn’t be a surprise, depending on how the Blues ice their lineup, to see Noah Cates matching up with that trio. He has been tremendous at shutting other players down and is counted on in tough matchups.
The Flyers have been one of the better teams at preventing goals. They’re top-10, allowing 2.83 goals-per-game. But they’re also 29th when it comes to the amount of goals they score. Facing a team that has the league’s worst goals against numbers (3.80), the Flyers should be able to feast on a Blues team that is going in the wrong direction.
It was a wild 6-5 affair the last time these teams faced less than a week ago. The Blues are likely to be playing desperate even though it’s the Flyers who have struggled more recently. Getting into another shootout with them isn’t ideal.
It starts with making sure that a player like Neighbours doesn’t make an impact. He’ll be coming into the game with a bunch of adrenaline, ready to bring his team back into the fight. And it’s more than clear that they’ve missed his offense since he’s been out.
Shut him down and hope the rest follows.