It’s been a busy week for the Flyers, and it’s only getting busier for them as we move into the weekend. On deck, the Flyers have a home-and-home series against the Hurricanes, and they’re kicking that off with the first matchup in South Philly this evening. The Flyers, coming off of a competitive showing but still pretty gutting overtime loss to the Golden Knights on Thursday, will be looking to keep their positive momentum building, but it’ll be a tough matchup for them, as the top team in their division comes to town.
Puck drop: 7:00 p.m.
How to watch/listen:
📺: NBCSP
📻: 97.5 The Fanatic
Pregame reading
- It’s been a big exciting last 24 hours in the hockey world, as the Quinn Hughes saga reached its conclusion and he was sent to the Minnesota Wild for an absolute haul of a package. And while there was some noise that the Flyers might be in play to acquire him, that’s not an offer they would have been able to match. [BSH]
- And, at the same time, maybe it was for the best that the Flyers didn’t pull this one off? [BSH]
Pregame watching
By the numbers
Philadelphia Flyers – 16-9-4 (4th in Metro)
Goals: Trevor Zegras (11)
Assists: Trevor Zegras/Travis Konecny (17)
Points: Trevor Zegras (28)
Carolina Hurricanes – 19-9-2 (1st in Metro)
Goals: Seth Jarvis (17)
Assists: Shayne Gostisbehere (19)
Points: Sebastian Aho (26)
Projected lineups
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Nic Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Nick Seeler – Travis Sanheim
Emil Andrae – Jamie Drysdale
Ty Murchison – Noah Juulsen
Sam Ersson
(Dan Vladar)
Andrei Svechnikov – Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis
Nikolaj Ehlers – Logan Stankoven – Jackso Blake
William Carrier – Jordan Staal – Jordan Martinook
Taylor Hall – Mark Jankowski – Eric Robinson
K’Andre Miller – Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere – Jalen Chatfield
Alexander Nikishin – Joel Nystrom
Pyotor Kochetkov
(Brandon Bussi)
Storylines to watch
Keeping it competitive
This last week has been a bit of a challenging one as far as matchups go for the Flyers, first with the Avalanche and then on Thursday the Golden Knights coming to town, and while the results didn’t go the Flyers’ way, what was really encouraging to see was how competitive they were able to keep those matchups. The Flyers, especially with the injuries mounting on them as they have recently, don’t have the same depth that these top teams do, but they’ve still been able to play their games and hang with them to a notable degree. It’s a big step in the right direction for the Flyers, to be able to begin to close the gap between themselves and those top teams, and tonight’s matchup will be another test of that.
Zegras staying hot
Trevor Zegras picked up his 11th goal of the season on Thursday against the Golden Knights, getting another points streak started and marking eight points over his last 10 games, as he’s continuing to establish himself as a really productive and largely consistent force at the top of the Flyers’ lineup.
And, all in all, it’s beginning to feel a bit automatic with him, that he’s going to get the puck and he’s going to make something happen. He’s been a real treat to watch, and he’s been stepping up nicely as a legitimate game breaker for the Flyers when they pretty desperately need it, and hopefully he can keep that rolling into this one.
Looking for a rebound
Since his recall, and particularly since his promotion to the second pair with Jamie Drysdale, Emil Andrae has been delivering a really high level of play for the Flyers, and making a strong case for a more permanent spot in the lineup for himself. Thursday’s game against the Golden Knights, though, saw him taking a bit of a step back again, struggled to stay on his skates and looking less settled in his play with the puck. Now, one middling showing certainly won’t erase all of the good work he’s put in up to this point, but the Flyers are going to need him to find a way to rebound quickly. We’ll see how he responds in this relatively quick turnaround.
