The toughest stretch of the season is upon the Flyers as they head to Florida for the second time this season to face the Panthers.
This is the second of three meetings between the two teams. They met just over a month ago in the first game back from the All-Star break. Sam Ersson stopped 20 of 21 shots to shut down the Panthers offense. Travis Konecny and Noah Cates scored to end the Flyers' five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers will look a lot different on defense than in the previous matchup. Rasmus Ristolainen, Jamie Drysdale, and Nick Seeler, all playing in that game, remain out due to injury. Sean Walker was traded to the Avalanche on Wednesday. The Flyers will be especially young on the backend. Ronnie Attard will check into his first game since his callup. Adam Ginning was also recalled once Seeler was placed on injured reserve.
Communication will be key with new faces in the lineup. The Panthers are the best team in the league. They top the NHL in goals-against-per-game (2.37) and are top-10 in goals-for-per-game (3.32). Philadelphia held their offense in check during the last game, but it won't be easy to replicate. Flordia is hot right now and shows no signs of stopping.
The good news for Philadelphia is that they could see their leading scorer return to the lineup. Travis Konecny has missed six straight games but ditched the no-contact jersey during Wednesday's practice. The target date for his return was said to be this game. With no morning skate, we won't know his status until closer to game time.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Tyson Foerster
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Cam Atkinson
Noah Cates - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Nic Deslauriers - Sean Couturier - Bobby Brink
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula - Marc Staal
Adam Ginning - Ronnie Attard
Sam Ersson
Florida Panthers
Everything the Panthers do right now has resulted in victories. They have won six in a row and nine of their last 10. They also have 20 wins on home ice. They are getting hot at the right time, though they have been one of the top teams in the league all season. And they're getting even better.
The Panthers acquired Vladimir Tarasenko from the Ottawa Senators. He will make his Panthers debut against the Flyers. He had 17 goals and 41 points in 57 games with the Senators. Tarasenko scored in both games against Philadelphia this season and has 17 points in 17 games against them. He will add some scoring depth to a Panthers roster that has Sam Reinhart's name all over it. Reinhart is having an incredible season, leading Florida in goals (45) and points (75). It has been a breakthrough year where 25 of his goals have come on the power play.
The Flyers faced Anthony Stolarz, a former prospect of theirs, last time out. This time, they will face another former Flyer in Sergei Bobrovsky. He is putting up his best numbers since the 2016-17 season, his fifth season with the Blue Jackets. Bobrovsky has a 2.29 GAA and a .918 SV% to go along with four shutouts. He has won his last three games, one of which being a shutout against the Red Wings.
Panthers Projected Lineup
Vladimir Tarasenko - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Matthew Tkachuk
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Evan Rodrigues
Nick Cousins - Kevin Stenlund - Ryan Lomberg
Gustav Forsling - Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola - Brandon Montour
Oliver Ekman-Larsson - Dmitry Kulikov
Sergei Bobrovsky
When, Where, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Amerant Bank Arena
Watch: NBCSP
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Live Stream: FuboTV
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