The Game: 7:30 p.m. EST on NBCSports Philadelphia, ESPN+/Hulu, and 93.3 WMMR
No rest for the wicked as the Philadelphia Flyers are back at it again this evening against the LA Kings. Hopefully, the Flyers can keep the momentum going from last night’s dominant 5-1 performance over the Buffalo Sabres–though unfortunately for the Flyers, the Kings actually know how to play defense.
And the Kings have looked good this year. They had this off season’s blockbuster trade, sending Cal Petersen (we’ll get to him in a bit), Sean Walker, Helge Grans, and a 2nd round pick to the Flyers while taking on a portion of Ivan Provorov’s contract in a three-team trade.
What’s that? They were involved in another major trade?
Indeed, the Kings sent Gabe Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and another 2nd round pick to the Winnipeg Jets in a sign-and-trade deal for Pierre-Luc Dubois, now on an eight-year, $8.5-million AAV contract with LA. Dubois has been a somewhat polarizing figure in the NHL: some people love to see a player taking control of where they want to live and spend their career, others feel jilted that Dubois spurned their team or city. Regardless, early returns have been pretty good for the Kings, with Dubois providing a positive impact in a second-line center role, and posting three goals and six points across ten contests. “But why,” you may ask, “is Dubois being paid that much to be a 2C?”
That’s because Anze Kopitar seems to have turned back the clock–again. At 36, he’s already on a point-per-game pace with five goals and 10 points. His on-ice impact has been substantial, with an all-situations 59.72 xG%. Elite players: even as they age, they remain very good. Even Drew Doughty is dominating in his minutes after a bit of a down (by his standards) year.
This will not be an easy game for the Flyers…though they do have an ace up their sleeve: spite.
You see, with Carter Hart injured, Sam Ersson having played last night, and Felix Sandstrom in the AHL for a conditioning stint, the Flyers have only one option in net tonight: Cal Petersen.
The heir-apparent to Jonathan Quick in Los Angeles, Petersen was signed to a three-year, $5-million AAV contract–and was almost immediately sent to the AHL at the beginning of the 2022-23 season in the first year of said contract. Petersen wound up a cap dump in the three-way Provorov trade, and with the Phantoms has been–wait for it–really bad, posting an 0.884 SV% and 3.76 GAA, sporting a 1-3-0 record. It’s likely he’ll also be bad against a deep Kings team tonight…but revenge can be a powerful motivator, and maybe the opportunity to beat the team that dumped him will unlock the goaltender the Kings thought they were getting when they signed him to that contract the Flyers now own. We’re not gonna say “shutout,” but how hilarious would that be.
Players to Watch
Tyson Foerster (Consecutive games we’ve used this bit: 3)
Tonight’s the night. I (sentient blog) can feel it in my HTML-coded bones: Tyson Foerster will score a goal. It will be a gorgeous wrister. It will ping so loud you could hear it in Los Angeles. It will go in the net. We will rejoice.
Joel Farabee
Holy macaroni, Joel Farabee has been a treat to watch this season. His 5-on-5 stats have been ludicrous (62.7 xG%!) and he has five goals and nine points in 11 games. Farabee had a strong finish to last season, and the question was, “Can he start 2023-24 the same way?” The answer, so far, has been a resounding yes. The part of Beezer’s game that has stood out the most has been his work in transition and on the rush: every time he’s been in the neutral zone to receive a breakout pass from the Flyers’ d-zone, it looks like it turns into a high-danger scoring chance. His chemistry with Bobby Brink has been undeniable as well, and that line with Noah Cates has dominated at 5-on-5 to the tune of a 59.09 CF% through 79 minutes together.
Cal Petersen
We talked quite a bit about Petersen already, so we won’t rehash it too much. Still, this is the first time Flyers fans will get to see the netminder in a regular season game in the orange’n’black, so he’d do well to put on a solid performance.
Anze Kopitar
The clock has no hands in Kopitar’s world. In his 18th NHL season, he’s the steady 1C he’s always been: scoring goals, controlling play, and solid work away from the puck. It’s the last year of his $10-million AAV contract before his “sweetheart” two-year, $7-million AAV contract kicks in next season–which, if he continues to play at this level, will be an absolute steal. Look for the captain in all-situations, leading the way.
Projected Lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Joel Farabee – Noah Cates – Cam Atkinson
Joel Farabee – Scott Laughton – Bobby Brink
Travis Konecny – Morgan Frost – Tyson Foerster
Nic Deslauriers – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Sean Walker
Egor Zamula – Louis Bepedio
Cal Petersen
Sam Ersson
Los Angeles Kings
Quinton Byfield – Anze Kopitar – Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala – P.L. Dubois – Alex Laferriere
Trevor Moore – Phillip Danault – Arthur Kaliyev
Carl Grundstrom – Blake Lizotte – Trevor Lewis
Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty
Vladislav Gavrikov – Matt Roy
Andreas Englund – Jordan Spence
Cam Talbot
Pheonix Copley
Gameday Tunes
This song rules, and is a little tribute to Cal Petersen: “I wasn’t ready to move on out / I wasn’t ready for what you were saying / But I’m all ready now.” Hopefully he’s ready to show the team that broke up with him what they’re missing out on.
Stats courtesy Natural Stat Trick
