The Philadelphia Flyers need to do it again. After an emphatic Game 1 win over the Penguins, they return to the ice to try and leave Pittsburgh with an improbable 2-0 series lead. Imagine going back to the good city up 2-0 in this series? It’s what dreams are made of.
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
📺: NBCSP/ESPN+
📻: 97.5 The Fanatic
Pregame reading
- Travis Sanheim was a workhorse in Game 1. On every side of the puck, the Flyers veteran blueliner was putting in the work and even scored a crucial goal. So, he kind of needs to do it all again. [BSH]
- What the Flyers’ offense can learn from Game 1 [BSH]
- Hey, some new guys! The Flyers have called up Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek now that the Phantoms’ season is over. [BSH]
- Flyers’ physical edge made all the difference in Game 1 against the Penguins [BSH]
Pregame watching
By the numbers
Philadelphia Flyers – 43-27-12 (3rd in Metro)
Goals: Owen Tippett (28)
Assists: Travis Konecny (41)
Points: Travis Konecny (68)
Pittsburgh Penguins – 41-25-16 (2nd in Metro)
Goals: Anthony Mantha (33)
Assists: Erik Karlsson (51)
Points: Sidney Crosby (74)
Projected lineups
Tyson Foerster — Trevor Zegras — Owen Tippett
Travis Konecny — Christian Dvorak — Porter Martone
Denver Barkey — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Luke Glendening — Sean Couturier — Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler — Emil Andrae
Dan Vladar
(Sam Ersson)
Egor Chinakhov — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak — Rickard Rakell — Evgeni Malkin
Elmer Soderblom — Ben Kindel — Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard — Kris Letang
Ryan Shea — Connor Clifton
Stuart Skinner
(Arturs Silovs)
Storylines to watch
Can the defensive effort continue?
The Flyers were extremely stingy all game long on Saturday. They let basically no one wearing those ugly yellow sweaters attempt a shot within 10 feet of Dan Vladar, keeping their offense limited to the perimeter of the zone and that’s a massive credit to the team-wide attention to defense in their own zone, keeping structure, and a big reason why they won.
So, can they do the same? It’s hard to see Sidney Crosby and his merry men get suffocated once again in their own building — they are going to come out swinging right off the bat and will be pushing to get inside heavier than any shift in Game 1. The Flyers will need to potentially match that high-pace and physical hockey to hopefully prevent that from happening.
The Flyers need to take advantage of the Girard-Letang pairing again
The old defender and the new member of the Penguins blue line were abysmal on Saturday. In 12:40 time-on-ice at 5-on-5, the Flyers had 97.5 percent of the expected goals share. Ninety-seven and a half percent! They were getting hemmed in their own zone so badly and Letang was on the ice for all three of the Flyers’ goals. Just a great piece of playoff hockey from the man that is supposed to keep everything stable back there with all his, uh, experience.
The Flyers need to attack that pairing once again. They clearly cannot handle this team’s big bunch of sizeable forwards and Philadelphia was able to walk into the dangerous areas of the ice with no problem. It is almost necessary for them to do this, especially given the fact that Dan Muse is not changing up his lineup.
Special teams still a concern
All five goals in Game 1 were scored at even strength, so the main concern going into this series was not affected. But it is just so predictable that the Flyers’ terrible power play and inability to score will kill them in the end and possibly as soon as tonight’s game. And then the mediocre penalty kill might truly succumb to Crosby and his band of goons that will pot a couple and put this game away.
It might end up being the dagger through the Flyers heart, and it will be once again a massive narrative that permeates throughout this series.
