After a four day break, the Flyers will aim to move their winning streak to four games as they welcome in the Florida Panthers for the first time this season.
The two have faced off once this season with the Panthers taking that game in a shootout. It was a back and forth affair with a combined four goals coming in the second period. The Flyers tied to almost midway through the third before Evan Rodrigues would have the winner in the shootout.
The Flyers come in as the hotter team, having gone 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Panthers are 4-5-1, but have three wins in their last four games. They've scored four in more goals in their last four games as well.
Philadelphia Flyers
With a new month, the Flyers hope to start a new trend: not needing overtime to decide a winner. They've already played in 10 OT games this season after only 19 a year ago and have won seven games when extra time is needed. But that is a lot of hockey to play and can wear on a team over time.
It's not necessarily a problem when you have a player like Matvei Michkov. He has a flair for the dramatic and has three overtime goals this season. That is tied for the most by a teenager. Are the Flyers playing tight games to allow Michkov to shine? Of course they aren't, but they haven't minded having to play so many overtime games.
While Sam Ersson is cleared to return, the Flyers are still being cautious with him. He has practiced with the team twice this week, but won't take the net just yet. It's a good problem for the Flyers to have as they aren't in a situation where they need to rush Ersson. Ivan Fedotov will get another start to try and impress. He's not worried about what the team will decide, but it must come soon.
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
Emil Andrae - Rasmus Ristolainen
Egor Zamula - Nick Seeler
Ivan Fedotov
Florida Panthers
Even with a less than stellar record in their last 10 games, the Panthers are still a team to be feared. They can strike at any moment, holding a top-4 goals scored per game at 3.65. That number has been over four in their last four games. They have a total of 21 goals in those games, only giving up nine against. They can score fast as well, scoring three in 4:27 to tie the Penguins in their last game.
Sam Reinhart is leading the way for not only the Panthers, but the league, when it comes to goal-scoring. He has 18 goals after a career-high 57 last season. He's projected to match that total if he keeps things up and could hit the century mark in points for the first time. Sam Bennett has goals in his last four games and is over halfway to his 20 goals from last season. It's been a rather slow start for Matthew Tkachuk as he only has seven goals, but he's missed a few games. Don't count him out.
With Sergei Bobrovsky not traveling as he and his wife await the birth of their next child, Spencer Knight will try to turn things around. He has a shutout recently, but has lost four of his last five starts. He gave up five in the loss to Pittsburgh, so he will want to get back on track. He's still posted rather respectable numbers, coming in with a 2.60 GAA and a .896 SV%.
Panthers Projected Roster
Evan Rodrigues - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer - Tomas Nosek - Jonah Gadjovich
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Nate Schmidt
Dmitry Kulikov - Adam Boqvist
Spencer Knight
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTv
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