Claude Giroux will hit the Flyers lineup on Monday for the first time since returning from the World Cup of Hockey, according to reports from the morning skate at Wells Fargo Center this morning.
It’ll be the first game of the season for the Flyers captain, and that in and of itself is exciting enough. But looking up and down the lineup should get you even more excited. Giroux is playing on a top line centering Travis Konecny to his left side and Brayden Schenn to his right side as Dave Hakstol continues to give Konecny a shot to prove himself both on the left wing and with top NHL linemates.
If Konecny makes this team out of training camp, it’s likely going to be both as a top-6 winger and on the left side, where he has not played much in his career. As we wrote on Sunday, he’s not all that concerned about the switch. Whether or not Hakstol agrees is probably key to him making this team.
Elsewhere among the forwards, Matt Read has a big opportunity to step up with Sean Couturier and Jakub Voracek, while battles for final roster spots continue among guys like Colin McDonald, Taylor Leier, Scott Laughton, Nick Cousins, Jordan Weal and Roman Lyubimov. You could theoretically see any of these players making the roster or missing the cut, and … well, that much competition is not a bad thing.
On the back end, we’ll see a pairing of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere. Provorov is in the same boat as Konecny in terms of his chances of making this team or heading back to junior, and it’s another key night of action for him while paired with the team’s most exciting player.
Samuel Morin will play with Andrew MacDonald tonight, and with the next preseason game not coming until Thursday, we’ll expect this to be the final appearance for Morin in Flyers camp. We expect him to get a full season of AHL experience again before really competing for an NHL job in camp next year, but this has been a productive camp for him.
Radko Gudas also makes his first appearance of the year. He pulled out of the World Cup with an injury but is expected to be at full speed for the regular season.
Here’s the full Flyers lineup tonight. Steve Mason will start in goal.
Forwards
- Konecny – Giroux – Schenn
- Read – Couturier – Voracek
- Laughton – Cousins – McDonald
- Leier – Weal – Lyubimov
Defensemen
- Del Zotto – Gudas
- Provorov – Gostisbehere
- Morin – MacDonald
Here’s the lineup the Rangers will go with:
OFFICIAL: Expected #NYR lines tomorrow night at PHI
Vesey-Stepan-Nash
Pirri-Hayes-Buchnevich
Miller-Hrivik-Kovacs
Glass-Lapierre-Stromwall— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 2, 2016
OFFICIAL: Expected pairings and goalies for tomorrow night in PHI
McDonagh-Clendening
Graves-McIlrath
Summers-HoldenLundqvist
Skapski— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 2, 2016
Tonight’s game is on CSN Philly and 97.5 The Fanatic locally, MSG in the New York area and on NHL Network everywhere else in the United States. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.
