While most of us were watching the Phillies, some may have been watching the Flyers (or streaming on an iPad like I was). If you weren’t watching, you actually missed a pretty fun game. The Flyers went down 2-0 quickly in the second period but were able to battle back and score three unanswered goals to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning. Scott Laughton, James van Riemsdyk, and Noah Cates recorded the goals for the Flyers. The real story of the game was first star Carter Hart, who was sensational, stopping 36 of the 38 shots he faced.
The Panthers, tonight’s opponent, come into this game with a 2-1-0 record, with their their lone loss coming in their last game against the Boston Bruins. The Panthers fell behind 4-1 before making a bit of a comeback and getting the game to 4-3 before Boston scored the empty netter to seal the victory. Tuesday night’s game will also be the Panthers’ home opener, and with the Panthers on the rise perhaps we see a different atmosphere this season down in Florida.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scott Laughton-Kevin Hayes-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk- Morgan Frost-Tanner Laczynski
Joel Farabee-Noah Cates-Wade Allison
Nic Deslauriers- Jackson Cates-Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov-Tony DeAngelo
Travis Sanheim-Justin Braun
Egor Zamula-Nick Seeler
Carter Hart
(Felix Sandström)
Panthers Projected Lineup
Carter Verharghe-Aleksander Barkov-Sam Reinhart
Matthew Tkachuk-Sam Bennett-Rudolfs Balcers
Eetu Luostarinen-Anton Lundell-Colin White
Ryan Lomberg-Nick Cousins-Patric Hornqvist
Gustav Forsling-Radko Gudas
Marc Staal-Matt Kiersted
Josh Mahura-Lucas Carlsson
Sergei Bobrovsky
(Spencer Knight)
What to Watch For
- As of now it is not confirmed who will be in net for the Flyers. If it’s Carter Hart, he’ll be back in net after a stellar performance yesterday. He has started all three games this season and has a 2.00 GAA and a .943 SV%. John Tortorella knows he has a hot goaltender and is not going to be afraid of using him in a back-to-back. But if he does elect to go with his backup, Felix Sandström will get his season debut.
- One of if not the biggest offseason acquisition in the NHL this past offseason was Matthew Tkachuk. The former Calgary star has not disappointed so far recording two goals and two assists in the teams first three games. He is still the same pest as he always was and has the skill to score 100 points like he did last season. The Flyers should avoid getting involved in any extracurriculars with him, as that only seems to wake him up. If they are able to shut him down Philadelphia will have a very good chance of winning.
- A lot has been made about the Flyers’ conditioning this season following a John Tortorella training camp. It will be interesting to see if they can keep the same pace and level of this pressure they have so far this season while playing the second game of a back-to-back.
- The Flyers will get a little break tonight with the Panthers announcing that both Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour will both miss this game. They will be replaced by Lucas Carlsson and Matt Kiersted. The Panthers will also be without Anthony Duclair who had a career-best season last year. /
