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Flyers Gameday: 1/8/22 vs SJ; RIP Robbie Moore |
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Game 35 Preview: Flyers vs. Sharks
Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (13-15-6) host Bob Boughner's San Jose Sharks (18-16-1) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic).
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the interconference clubs and the lone game in Philadelphia. On Dec. 30 in San Jose, the Flyers were largely outplayed but scratched out one point from a 3-2 overtime loss.
That game marked the final match of a Flyers' seven-game point streak and the start of a current four-game winless streak (0-3-1). Since that time, the Flyers have suffered losses by scores of 6-3 (at Los Angeles), 4-1 (at Anaheim) and 6-2 (home vs. Pittsburgh).
In the Pittsburgh game, the Flyers' lineup was missing six players due to COVID-19 protocol (Claude Giroux, Ivan Provorov, Travis Konecny, Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler and Jackson Cates) and three more on the Injured Reserve list (Sean Couturier, Ryan Ellis and Nate Thompson). There is a chance that at least one of Seeler and/or Cates could exit protocol and return to the lineup against San Jose. However, none of the other players in protocol are eligible yet to return to play.
Veteran forward Derick Brassard, who has been bothered by a nagging lower-body issue and then spent a stint in COVID protocol, made a one-game return to the Flyers lineup against Pittsburgh. On Friday, Brassard did not practice with the team. He is back to being listed on day-to-day status. Yeo said Brassard's availability against San Jose is "doubtful."
Martin Jones will get the start in goal for the Flyers against his former San Jose teammates. The Flyers will not hold a morning skate.
Since playing the Flyers, the Sharks embarked on a four-game road trip. The team is 1-2-0 thus far on the trip. San Jose lost 8-5 to the Penguins after trailing 5-1 through the first period and then suffered a 6-2 thrashing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. The team, which is one point below the current wildcard cutoff at present, needs a win in Philadelphia to salvage a .500 road trip after a rough first two games.
For an in-depth, five-point preview of this game, see today's Five Things on the Flyers' official website. If available before the game, lineups will be added to this blog.
Flyers Lineup
Farabee-Laughton-Atkinson
Willman-Hayes-van Riemsdyk
Lindblom-Frost-Mayhew
Cates-Brown-MacEwen
York-Braun
Seeler-Ristolainen
Yandle-Connauton
Jones
[Hart]
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RIP Robbie Moore
The Philadelphia Flyers and Flyers Alumni Association are mourning the loss of former goaltender Robbie Moore at age 67. Although he appeared in one season as a Flyer, he made timely contributions to the team, going unbeaten in the regular season and winning both games to clinch the preliminary round of the 1979 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Moore recorded a 22-save shutout of the Colorado Rockies in his NHL debut on March 6, 1979. Two starts later, he notched a 22-save shutout of the Vancouver Canucks. Overall, he posted a 3-0-1 record, 1.77 GAA and .929 save percentage.
The 5-foot-5 netminder also brought success to the Flyers' top affiliate in the American Hockey League, the Maine Mariners for three seasons. He was a three-time co-winner of the Hap Holmes Award (lowest GAA in the AHL). Moore was a member of the Mariners' 1979 Calder Cup Championship squad and appeared in the 1981 Calder Cup Final.
Moore suffered a massive heart attack this past weekend. He passed away in a hospital in Sarnia, Ontario, on Thursday night after life-support efforts were ultimately unsuccessful.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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