The Game: 7 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, 93.3 WMMR
Maybe it’s East Coast Bias, but a lot of us don’t pay much attention to what’s happening in the NHL’s Western Conference. Sure, the best player in the world is in Edmonton, and there are some perennial awards candidates in Colorado, but by and large the West is static: outside of an intriguing second wildcard race between the Canucks and Flames (and Utah HC, if you’re a believer), the playoff picture’s been set since December.
What nobody could have predicted is that, as we near the end of the season, the Winnipeg Jets would be running away with the President’s Trophy. The Jets have 87 points and a 42-15-3 record, and have looked the part of a true Stanley Cup contender. Sure, they have a few points of weakness that they may try and address at the deadline (considering how difficult it can be to sign players there, keep an eye on Rasmus Ristolainen and the term on his contract), but this Jets team has been rolling from Day One and set the best season-start record in NHL history by going 14-1-0 to begin 2024-25.
The Jets are outstanding at home (23-5-3) and won 11 straight before a loss to the Predators earlier this week, so the Flyers are going to have their work cut out for them–and they’ll almost certainly be missing Garnet Hathaway from the lineup after a scary hit in Pittsburgh on Thursday. Glancing at the Jets roster, one might think, “Really? This is the team that’s performing this way?” Sometimes, things click, and it isn’t just the Connor Hellebucyk show (though he’s certainly an integral part of the team’s success). What Winnipeg’s especially good at is defending a lead, so the Flyers will have to strike early and pour it on if they have any hope of winning.
Storylines to Follow
The best goalie in the world
The way he’s been playing, they may have to rename the Vezina the Hellebuyck, and the fact Hellebuyck isn’t in Hart conversations is shocking. The 36-7-2 record is ludicrous on its own (including six shutouts!), but the .926 save percentage and 2.02 goals-against average are even more eye-popping when you consider how much scoring is up this year. The only red flag is how heavily the Jets ride Hellebuyck in the regular season, to the point that it’s affected their playoff success in the past and likely will again this year. This is a regular season game, though, and the Flyers are going to have to find a way to solve Hellebucyk early or they may be toast.
Do not get in a hole
The Jets are outrageously good at defending leads–two-goal leads, specifically–so the Flyers cannot let them get too far ahead. In their past three games, the Flyers have scored six goals twice and four once, so they’re perfectly capable of generating the offense necessary to hang with Winnipeg, so long as their finishing prowess doesn’t desert them. The other good news? The Flyers are actually all right when playing from behind!
We’re not condoning putting yourself on the backfoot to generate a statistical advantage, especially against a Jets team that coasts once they get a lead, but don’t count the Flyers out if they end up back a goal or two.
Matvei Michkov, revitalized
What a week it’s been for Michkov, huh? Three consecutive multi-point games, and four in his last five for a total of five goals and 10 points. He’s come out of the break flying and, while his blown coverage in overtime lost the Flyers the game on Thursday, he’s put himself firmly back in the Calder conversation. If he continues to score at this rate, we might witness some eye-popping rookie numbers for the young forward–especially when compared to past Flyers rookies.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Owen Tippett – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov
Andrei Kuzmenko – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny
Jakob Pelletier – Ryan Poehling – Nic Deslauriers
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Sam Ersson
(Ivan Fedotov)
Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabe Vilardi
Nikolaj Ehlers – Vladislav Namestnikov – Cole Perfetti
Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton
David Gustafsson – Rasmus Kupari – Alex Iafallo
Josh Morrissey – Dylan Demelo
Dylan Samberg – Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury – Logan Stanley
Connor Hellebuyck
(Eric Comrie)
Gameday Tunes
Who hates Winnipeg more than The Weakerthans?
Stats courtesy Hockey Reference
