The gauntlet of a schedule for the Flyers is almost over, but not before a Saturday matinee against the Bruins. Feels like it’s always an afternoon game against this team, right?
Philadelphia has surrendered six goals to Boston in both losses this season. The first wasn’t very competitive as it was 4-0 after the opening period and 5-1 after two. The Flyers led Boston by a goal twice when they faced off last week. But a wild third period saw Boston edge out the 6-5 victory.
The Bruins are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Rangers, while the Flyers dropped a close one to the Hurricanes in overtime.
Philadelphia Flyers
With no practice on Friday and no morning skate, the return of Sean Couturier likely won’t be known until warmups. If the trend of a coach not changing his lineup until a loss sticks, the veteran captain should be back in the lineup. One game sends a message while two games say we’re sticking with what works. A third game at this point in the season may be a bit much. Early rumors say he will be back in while Nic Deslauriers sits.
Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett continued their hot streaks against the Hurricanes. Tippett has three goals and eight points during his last five-game point streak. Frost has matched his career high five-game streak with three goals and seven points. The confidence in Frost’s game is evident in his play on the ice. The team showed their faith in him after electing not to trade him at the deadline. He can continue to prove them right with a strong finish.
With a back to back this weekend, both Sam Ersson and Felix Sandstrom will get a game. Ersson has appeared in four of the last five games, so the Flyers could elect to go to Sandstrom for this one. He was in net the last time these two faced and was a big reason the team was in it at times. Both games will be a tough test, so it’s all up to who the Flyers see as the bigger threat. Though, one is just as good as the other this season.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Bobby Brink
Tyson Foerster - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Noah Cates - Sean Couturier - Olle Lycksell
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Adam Ginning - Ronnie Attard
Egor Zamula - Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
Boston Bruins
There’s no secret how good the Bruins continue to be despite losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. They hold the top spot in the league, despite fewer wins (41) than the Rangers (46). Their 15 overtime points are nearly four times that of New York, however. Regardless, they are one of the premiere teams in the league for a reason.
That reason has a lot to do with David Pastrnak. No one on the Bruins roster is anywhere close to his 99 points, while his 44 goals are nearly double that of Brad Marchand (27). Imagine if Boston had more players involved in the offense, they’d be even scarier. They boast nine players with double-digit goals, but only three over the 20-goal mark.
The Bruins split the net fairly evenly between their two goaltenders. They won’t play again until Tuesday after this one so they could lean either way. Linus Ullmark was in net against Ottawa while Jeremy Swayman took the loss against the Rangers. Swayman was in net against the Flyers last time so they could look to Ullmark, who has wins in three straight starts.
Bruins Projected Lineup
Brad Marchand - Charlie Coyle - Jake DeBrusk
Danton Heinen - Pavel Zacha - David Pastrnak
James van Riemsdyk - Morgan Geekie - Trent Frederic
John Beecher - Jesper Boqvist - Justin Brazeau
Matt Grzelcyk - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Brandon Carlo
Mason Lohrei - Andrew Peeke
Linus Ullmark
When, Where, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 1:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBCSP, NHL Network
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTV
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