The Game: 7:00 p.m. EST on NBCSP, ESPN+/Hulu, and 93.3 WMMR
Who doesn’t love a bit of Monday Flyers hockey to either kick the week off nicely or completely derail the vibes before they even really get rolling (who’s to say which it will be)? We’re hoping that it’s the former, of course, and we’re optimistic that this is how things will shake out, with the momentum that the Flyers are bringing with them into this game. Saturday saw them answer the call to shore up their process and deliver a more convincing win than they did against the Jets (wherein they let off the gas and relied on their goaltending to keep them in it) and extend their winning streak to three games and further solidify that third place in the Metro spot. Things are going well for the Flyers right now, and we’re hoping they can keep the ball rolling tonight against the Coyotes.
The last time we saw them was back in December, when the Flyers came out of that game in Arizona with a 4-1 win. Things, since then, for the Coyotes have not been going great — they’re fourth worst in the Western Conference right now, and eight points back from a playoff spot. Of course, they’re still not an opponent that the Flyers should take lightly, so it will be up to them to keep up the pressure and not fall for a bit of a trap game.
Players to Watch
Sam Ersson
After Cal Petersen got the start on Saturday and posted some pretty positive results while giving Ersson the night off, they’re still going right back to Ersson again tonight. And for good reason — he’s been really solid for just about the whole of the season in a backup role, and now they’re giving him a really good run at proving himself as being capable to hold onto the starter’s role. And after a bit of a stumble before the All Star break, Ersson has recovered well so far — his performances in last week’s games were excellent — and they’ll be looking for him to keep that momentum rolling, as the Flyers look to hold on to their position in the mix for a playoff spot.
Olle Lycksell
Speaking of players getting back into the lineup, it looks like, with Tyson Foerster having gotten a little banged up on Saturday and his status for tonight’s game now questionable, Lycksell may be getting back in for the first time since January 27. He hasn’t gotten consistent playing time since his recall last month, but he’s shown some flash when he has gotten into the lineup and gotten some actual minutes to work with. It should tell us something about the impression he’s made on the coaching staff that he’s still around, even as the forward group has gotten healthier, but he’ll have to continue to make his case to stick around a while longer and make an impact in his next look.
Clayton Keller
On the Coyotes side, our player to watch, as it usually is, is Clayton Keller. Arizona’s leading scorer this season, Keller’s one of their most dynamic players (and probably doesn’t get the hype he deserves because, you know, he’s wasting away in the desert, in a college arena). He’s burned the Flyers before, and they’ll have the difficult task in front of them tonight of containing him.
Projected Lineups
Owen Tippett – Sean Couturier – Cam Atkinson
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Travis Konecny
Tyson Foerster – Ryan Poehling – Noah Cates
Scott Laughton – Garnet Hathaway — Olle Lycksell
Travis Sanheim – Jamie Drysdale
Cam York – Sean Walker
Nick Seeler – Rasmus Ristolainen
Sam Ersson
(Cal Petersen)
Arizona Coyotes
Clayton Keller—Jack McBain—Nick Schmaltz
Matias Maccelli—Nick Bjugstad—Lawson Crouse
Liam O’Brien—Alexander Kerfoot—Jason Zucker
Logan Cooley—Barrett Hayton—Dylan Guenther
J.J. Moser—Sean Durzi
Travis Dermott—Matt Dumba
Juuso Valimaki—Michael Kesselring
Karel Vejmelka
(Connor Ingram)
Gameday Tunes
Today’s gamely tune is a deep cut, but it’s been playing on a loop pretty much since I started writing this preview, so now everyone else has to experience that too.
