The preseason continues tonight in Manhattan, where the Flyers will play their fifth game of this long, winding exhibition schedule, this time against the team that eliminated them from last year’s postseason: the New York Rangers.
This is a big game for the speedy Frenchman, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. His lingering injury this training camp has hurt his chances of making the Flyers roster, and upstart Blair Jones has really surprised and pushed for the fourth-line spot that otherwise may have gone to Bellemare.
Both are in the lineup tonight, and with just two games on the preseason schedule after this evening, that’s one roster battle that will take on a life of its own as the week carries on. Or maybe it ends tonight. Either way, big game for those guys.
Speaking of fourth-line battles, it’s another night where Zack Stortini will play and Jay Rosehill will sit. Is that enough to think that Stortini has the inside track to win the job as Flyers enforcer?
The Flyers have a number of players up from the Phantoms for this one, especially since tonight’s game is the third in three days if you count Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage in Allentown. Andrew Gordon, Taylor Leier and Darroll Powe are just a few of the guys who will be in New York for the game despite already being sent to Lehigh Valley.
Here’s the roster, via the team. It’s … uhh, not exactly the most skilled we’ve ever seen.
Forwards: 10 Brayden Schenn, 12 Michael Raffl, 34 Andrew Gordon, 36 Zac Rinaldo, 41 Blair Jones, 42 Jason Akeson, 45 Zack Stortini, 46 Darroll Powe, 49 Scott Laughton, 58 Taylor Leier, 76 Chris VandeVelde, 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Defense: 5 Braydon Coburn, 39 Mark Alt, 47 Andrew MacDonald, 50 Sam Morin, 53 Shayne Gostisbehere, 55 Nick Schultz
Goal: 35 Steve Mason, 72 Rob Zepp
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y.
In Philly: NHL Network, 97.5 The Fanatic
In NYC: MSG Network
Everywhere else: NHL Network
