After collecting three points out of a possible six on the road trip, the Flyers return home for a quick matchup with the San Jose Sharks.
The two come in with similar records: the Sharks sit at 5-5-0 while the Flyers have a 4-5-1 record. Neither team comes in hot as Philadelphia has lost three of its last four, picking up an overtime point against the Panthers in its last game. San Jose has been slightly better, splitting wins and losses in its last four.
But this will be a matchup with two teams who hope better days are ahead of them. They both sit in the bottom five of the league and should be in contention for a top pick if their seasons continue to trend the way they have.
Philadelphia Flyers
Let's start with the good news for Philadelphia. After a two-game absence, Matvei Michkov will be back in the lineup. The 19-year-old had struggled leading up to the healthy scratch and should be coming in with plenty of energy. Ryan Poehling also returns as he was dealing with an upper-body injury. Cam York was skating in a regular jersey at the morning skate, but he is not quite ready to return.
The bad news comes for Jamie Drysdale. The defenseman has been placed on injured reserve, meaning he will miss at least a week of action. There is no word on what type of injury he is dealing with, just that he is "dinged up" according to John Tortorella. Morgan Frost will also be a healthy scratch against the Sharks. This one doesn't come as much of a surprise as there had been a long leash to this point. Frost has six points in 15 games, recently scoring his first of the season against the Hurricanes.
The Flyers have posted much better numbers overall over their last few games. After averaging only 19 shots in the previous four games, Philadelphia reached over 30 shots against both Tampa and Florida. The penalty kill has also continued its success, not having allowed a power-play goal in six consecutive games.
Flyers Projected Roster
Owen Tippett - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Bobby Brink
Anthony Richard - Ryan Poehling - Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster - Noah Cates - Garnet Hathaway
Emil Andrae - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Rasmus Ristolainen
Egor Zamula - Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
San Jose Sharks
The Sharks received good news recently as Macklin Celebrini returned to the lineup three games ago after missing 12 due to injury. Will Smith also confirmed he will be back on the ice after being a healthy scratch as a part of the team's development plan with their young rookie. It's possible Celebrini could have a similar plan, but head coach Ryan Warsofsky did not disclose that.
The Sharks are led by Mikael Granlund who has 16 points in his second season with the Sharks. He is halfway to his goal total from last season, tied for first on the team with six. Two other Sharks players have six goals: Tyler Toffoli and Fabian Zetterlund. In his first season with the Sharks, Toffoli has played well. And Zetterlund is off to a strong start after posting career-high numbers last season.
Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek have shared the net rather equally this season. The latter is expected to get his ninth start of the season. He took the loss to Minnesota in his last outing. In his first season with the Sharks, Vanecek has posted a 3.32 GAA and a .898 SV%.
Sharks Projected Roster
Mikael Granlund - Macklin Celebrini - Tyler Toffoli
William Eklund - Alexander Wennberg - Fabian Zetterlund
Barclay Goodrow - Will Smith - Luke Kunin
Carl Grundstrom - Nico Sturm - Ty Dellandrea
Mario Ferraro - Cody Ceci
Jack Thompson - Jan Rutta
Henry Thrun - Timothy Liljegren
Vitek Vanecek
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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