The game: 7:00 p.m. EST, NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
The Philadelphia Flyers get back to an actual hockey game tonight after a bizarre and somewhat baffling weekend that saw their coach suspended and fined and the team soundly trounced. Now with the Islanders closing in on the Flyers for playoff positioning and a blueline that continues to stay afloat with everything but the kitchen sink dressed, the Flyers look tonight to right the ship against the San Jose Sharks. Right now a glut of forwards and a dearth of defence means trying to get warm bodies on the back end while trying to find time for Bobby Brink and the newly acquired Denis Gurianov up front.
In early November the Sharks hosted the Flyers. At the time the Flyers were 5-6-1 and coming off a 5-0 loss to the Kings. The Sharks were 0-10-1 prior to the Flyers game. It looked like a gimme for the Flyers and, well, it wasn’t. A frustrating 2-1 loss to San Jose which saw the Orange and Black come out very flat for the first half of the game before realizing they couldn’t just guarantee two points by simply being on the ice. The contest ended rather chippy with both Scott Laughton and Travis Konecny getting 10-minute misconducts in the closing seconds of the game. If it makes anyone feel better, the Sharks then beat the Oilers, whose fan base also thought the season was done. Just like the Oilers however the Flyers have recoveredly nicely, thank you very much.
Tonight the Flyers should have a chip on their shoulder, a bee in their bonnet, any simile you can think of that evokes a sense of being pissed off. With Tortorella not on the bench and Brad Shaw calling the shots, the team should find a way to rally together and take out their frustrations on a team that fortunately ended a nine-game losing streak by beating Ottawa 2-1 Saturday. A loss tonight doesn’t eliminate the Flyers from the playoffs, but considering the teams and matchups coming up the next two weeks, they need two points.
Players to watch
Mikael Granlund
The Sharks’ points leader has just nine goals as part of his 40 points, but almost half of those have come on the power play. In his career over 18 games he has four goals and ten assists against the Flyers, primarily during his years with the Minnesota Wild although he got four points in four games last season which he split between Nashville and Pittsburgh. Look for Granlund (and the team’s 18th ranked power play) to try to do some damage.
Granlund will also be looked to in order to carry the load after the Sharks sent Thomas Hertl to the Vegas Long Term…I mean the Vegas Golden Knights. One of the few bright spots in a rather dismal season as San Jose counts down the periods to the offseason.
Ryan Poehling
One of the cogs in the impressive third-line combination alongside Noah Cates and Garnet Hathaway, Ryan Poehling is having a career year with 21 points. He’s one goal shy of tying his high of nine back in 2021-22 with the Canadiens while having a career high in assists this year. Three of his eight tallies have been shorthanded which is impressive but it would be great if Poehling could finish just a wee bit more in the offensive end. This late in the season any contribution from any player is a plus.
Travis Konecny
Travis Konecny will be playing his first home game at Wells Fargo Centre in exactly one month Tuesday evening after missing some time with an upper body injury. The last home game, against Arizona, saw him score a goal and get two assists in a 5-3 victory. Although 31 of Konecny’s 54 points have come on the road, it would be a boost to the team and Konecny if he could start lighting the lamp against a murderers’ row of opponents looming.
Konecny can also change the dynamic or momentum of a game with a simple but hard shift where he finishes his checks and knocks one or two forwards down. The Flyers could definitely use a great night from one of their mainstays. (Thanks to hockey-reference for the stats.)
Projected lineups
Philadelphia Flyers
Tyson Foerster — Sean Couturier — Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee — Scott Laughton — Owen Tippett
Noah Cates — Ryan Poehling — Garnet Hathaway
Denis Gurianov — Morgan Frost — Bobby Brink
Cam York — Travis Sanheim
Marc Staal — Ronnie Attard
Egor Zamula — Erik Johnson
Sam Ersson
(Felix Sandstrom)
San Jose Sharks
Alexander Barbanov — Mikael Granlund — Fabian Zetterlund
Filip Zadina — William Eklund — Luke Kunin
Thomas Bordeleau — Nico Strum — Mike Hoffman
Klim Kostin — Ryan Carpenter — Justin Bailey
Mario Ferraro — Kyle Burroughs
Henry Thrun — Marc-Edward Vlasic
Jacob MacDonald — Calen Addison
Magnus Chrona
(Devin Cooley)
Gameday tunes
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