Fresh off a shootout victory over the Washington Capitals, the Philadelphia Flyers are back at it with a matchup against the Detroit Red Wings.
This is the first of three games between the two teams. They will meet again next Friday in Detroit. They will finish up the series on Jan 25, also a home game for the Wings.
The Flyers swept the three game series last season. Three third period goals were scored in the 2-1 victory on Jan. 21. Philadelphia then scored three straight to take a 3-1 win on Mar. 5. To earn the sweep, Hart made 29 saves in a 3-0 shutout on Mar. 25.
Philadelphia Flyers
If it hasn’t been obvious by the way they’ve played, this is a Flyers team that has completely bought in and is playing for each other. Cam Atkinson has been in the league for over 13 years and he even said this is one of the most special groups that he has ever played with. That’s high praise from someone who has been around that long.
Speaking of Atkinson, he is someone the Flyers need to get going on the scoresheet. For everything he does off the ice, his contributions are just as important on it. Atkinson is currently in the midst of a 14-game goalless drought. He has just four points in that span of time. While having him back and healthy has been important, he has to be able to find a way to break out of this. John Tortorella has talked about how important getting him going is for this team.
Someone who has been going and will get another start in net is Sam Ersson. Tortorella has continuously praised the Swedish goaltender for his composure in net and he’s getting rewarded for it. Carter Hart has been sick so that’s largely been the reason for his continued play. But Ersson has been earning it with his play on the ice as well. He has helped the team earn a point in eight of his 11 games played this season. His .885 SV% might leave more to be desired, but you wouldn’t know that based on his confidence.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Tyson Foerster - Sean Couturier - Travis Konecny
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Bobby Brink
Joel Farabee - Ryan Poehling - Cam Atkinson
Nicolas Deslauriers - Scott Laughton - Garnet Hathaway
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Sean Walker
Marc Staal - Rasmus Ristolainen
Sam Ersson
Detroit Red Wings
With new additions such as Alex DeBrincat, Shayne Gostisbehere, and now Patrick Kane, the Red Wings are among the top teams in the Atlantic. They are two points out of second place in the division. And those players, though Kane just joined the team recently, have had a lot to do with it
DeBrincat is close to making history as he sits at 399 career points. He would become just the third member of the 2016 Draft class to hit 400 points, joining Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk. DeBrincat leads the Wings in goals (13) and points (26). The Wings will be without veteran David Perron and captain Dylan Larkin, however.
Perron is currently serving a six-game suspension for a cross-check to the back of the head of Senators’ Artem Zub. He’s been having a slower start to the season with just seven goals and 13 points in 26 games. Larkin was injured in that same game and had been placed on IR. There’s a chance he could return for them on Monday, but there has been no rush. He is second behind DeBrincat in goals (11) and points (25).
Red Wings Projected Lineup
Michael Rasmussen - J.T. Compher - Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat - Joe Veleno - Lucas Raymond
Robby Fabbri - Andrew Copp - Daniel Sprong
Klim Kostin - Christian Fischer - Austin Czarnik
Jake Walman - Moritz Seider
Ben Chariot - Jeff Petry
Shayne Gostisbehere - Olli Maatta
Alex Lyon
When, Where, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Wells Fargo Center
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: FuboTV
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