One more home game for the Flyers in 2024. And this one will be against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who visit Philadelphia for the first time this season.
The two teams faced off in Columbus earlier this month, where the Flyers didn't look back after taking a 3-0 lead into the second period. Travis Konecny scored twice and Philadelphia ended a three-game losing streak with a 5-3 win.
This time, they're looking to end a two-game skid after dropping games to the Red Wings and Kings.
It will be an emotional game, as the Flyers will honor Johnny Gaudreau before the game. His family will be in attendance, while Tortorella plans to meet with them following the game. While Gaudreau never played for the Flyers, he grew up not too far from the area and played various charity events at the team's practice arena. He meant plenty to the surrounding area.
Philadelphia Flyers
Cam York will make his return to the lineup after being healthy scratched against the Kings. The move was as simple as John Tortorella feeling York hadn't been playing his best for a few games. It left the Flyers' defense disjointed and that much was evident in their last game. With a shake-up to the pairings, Philadelphia wasn't able to fully recover. He's back in and Tortorella will expect to see a response.
The Flyers made another move on defense, sending Emil Andrae to the Phantoms. This move created waves, differently. Andrae had been benched for a few games before returning last game and hadn't looked his best. But he was still a much more promising option on the backend. There are thoughts that it was a roster move as the Flyers don't have an extra defenseman and might need to call one up. With the holiday freeze in effect, teams cannot send anyone down, they can only call them up. Hence why Andrae was sent down beforehand.
There are rumors that the Flyers did call Olle Lycksell up prior to this game. He is listed on their roster. It's uncertain if he will play as Sean Couturier was the only player absent from the Flyers' morning skate. No lineup changes were announced, so we'll have to wait and see at warmups.
Flyers Projected Roster
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Morgan Frost - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Bobby Brink
Scott Laughton - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Rasmus Ristolainen
Egor Zamula - Jamie Drysdale
Sam Ersson
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blue Jackets have only won one game since they last played Philadelphia. They've gone 1-2-2 in their last five games. They did collect two points in a pair of overtime losses. They did score three or more goals in three of those games. But they will be in desperate need of a win before returning home.
Three Blue Jackets lead the way in scoring. Kirill Marchenko, Zach Werenski, and Sean Monahan all have 11 goals. They were the only three players in double digits for Columbus. It's just as close in points as Marchenko sits with 30, Werenski has 32, and Monahan has 28. Marchenko is the hottest as he has a four-game point streak with six total points. Monahan is coming off a three-point outing against the Devils.
Elvis Merzlikins is expected to make his second straight start. He made 40 saves in the win against the Devils, a season-high. It was the first time since Nov. 1 that he faced over 40 shots. On the season, Merzlikins has a 3.05 GAA and a .891 SV%.
Columbus Projected Roster
Dmitri Voronkov - Sean Monahan - Kent Johnson
James van Riemsdyk - Adam Fantilli - Kirill Marchenko
Zach Aston-Reese - Cole Sillinger - Mathieu Olivier
James Malatesta - Sean Kuraly - Mikael Pyyhtia
Zach Werenski - Damon Severson
Jake Christiansen - Ivan Provorov
Jack Johnson - Jordan Harris
Elvis Merzlikins
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: FuboTv
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