The Flyers have not lost back-to-back games in over a month, and will look to avoid doing so yet again when they face the Blue Jackets later this evening.
Heading into the season, expectations were low for the Blue Jackets. They had just lost star forward Artemi Panarin, and 2017 Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky. However, here they are, right in the thick of things in the middle of February. The Jackets are currently one standings point ahead of the Flyers, and hold the first wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
But the injury bug has bit them hard, losing numerous impact players including All-Star defenseman Seth Jones. And as losers of five straight, they’ve cooled off after being one of the league’s hottest teams in the month of January.
With the Islanders losing to the Coyotes in regulation last night, a win for either team pushes them into third in the Metropolitan Division for the time being.
Players to watch
Claude Giroux
The Flyers’ captain has nine points in his last five games, and with him back in his usual spot on the power play, we can expect an uptick in his special teams production. It’ll be tough, up against one of the top penalty killing teams in the league, but if Giroux can get the power play to convert, it could be all the difference in this massive four-point swing in the standings.
Ivan Provorov
Let’s be honest, Provorov is coming off of a brutal game against the Lightning. There were a number of misplays, including a turnover behind the net that lead to the Bolts’ second goal of the game, and a boarding penalty less than a minute into the final frame. He may have scored a goal in that game, but I don’t think anybody would say they were happy with his performance. Look for the Flyers’ number one defenseman to have a bounce back game.
Jakub Voracek
In his last three games, Voracek has zero points — and that’s exactly why he’s a player to watch tonight. Voracek has gone pointless in four straight games just twice this season, and with the power play looking up, combined with the winger being one-third of the team’s stacked top line, it’s not hard to envision Voracek getting his name on the scoresheet against his former team.
Two big questions
1. Do the Flyers come out swinging?
Slow starts have plagued this team for years and it’s been no different this season. They had a uncharacteristically strong start to the game against Florida two games ago, but were unable to do so in their next game against Tampa Bay. It’d be a non-issue if this just happened to happen every so often, in games against the league’s best, but this has been a reoccurring theme. Can they escape the first period with a lead? We’ll even take a tie, really.
2. Who wins the goaltending duel?
Carter Hart, who is perfect (no I am not biased what are you talking about) was pretty hard on himself after the team’s last game. He didn’t have a great night, but he’ll be right back at it tonight, playing opposite of rookie sensation Elvis Merzlikins. A goaltender can really steal a game for their team on any given night, and both teams will be relying on their starters to get the job done. Whichever team gets the better performance in goal likely walks away with the two points.
Flyers projected lineup
Forwards
Giroux – Couturier – Voracek
Farabee – Hayes – Konecny
van Riemsdyk – Laughton – Pitlick
Raffl – Bunnaman – Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
Provorov – Niskanen
Sanheim – Myers
Hagg – Braun
Goalie
Hart
(Elliott)
A lot has changed since the Flyers last met up with Columbus back in November, and with the Blue Jackets missing a lot of key pieces due to injury and coming into Philly on a 5 game losing streak, the Flyers have a huge opportunity to kick off these two games with a win at home. PD of The Cannon fills us in on what’s been going on with the BJs lately and what we might expect from them in these next two games.
