GAME 1: FLYERS @ GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The puck drops on the 2018-19 regular season as the Philadelphia Flyers (0-0-0) are in Paradise, Nevada to take on the defending Western Conference champion Vegas Golden Knights (0-0-0) at T-Mobile Arena. Game time is 10 p.m. EDT.
The game will be nationally televised on NBC Sports Network. The radio broadcast is available on 97.5 AM The Fanatic with an online simulcast available on FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the first of two meetings between the inter-conference teams this season, and the lone game in Vegas. On Oct. 13, the Golden Knights will pay a visit to Philadelphia.
Last season, the Flyers and Golden Knights split their two meetings. On Feb. 11, 2018, the Flyers earned a 4-1 win in Vegas despite being outshot by a 39-18 margin and trailing 1-0 early in the match. On March 12 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Golden Knights returned the favor with a 3-2 win that was decided when Ryan Carpenter scored the game-winning goal with 2:40 left in regulation.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers finished the preseason with a 4-3-1 record. The club sustained several injuries during the preseason, most notably among its goaltending and blueline ranks, but enters the regular season with a relatively complete lineup intact.
Much of this season's opening night roster consists of incumbents from last year's roster. The new additions are returning left winger James van Riemsdyk, rookie center Mikhail Vorobyev and depth defenseman Christian Folin.
With Michal Neuvirth and Alex Lyon rehabbing preseason lower-body injuries -- in both cases, believed to be groin pulls -- and Anthony Stolarz coming back from two knee meniscus repair surgeries and missing nearly the entire 2017-18 season, the Flyers claimed former Colorado Avalanche goaltender Calvin Pickard off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Oct. 2. Pickard is sorting out a visa issue, and is unlikely to join the Flyers in Vegas.
Entering the new season, one of the Flyers' main focuses is on improving its penalty kill and establishing an effective second power play unit to supplement its long-running potent first unit. At practice on Wednesday, the second unit consisted of Nolan Patrick, van Riemsdyk, Travis Konecny Ivan Provorov, and Vorobyev. Oskar Lindblom and Travis Sanheim are also candidates for second-unit duty but will not be there to start.
On the penalty killing front, the Flyers have a clear need to improve significantly upon last year's 29th-ranked 75.8 percent (169-for-223) performance. The Flyers also scored just three shorthanded goals last season. Only the Arizona Coyotes (two) had fewer than the three apiece scored by Philadelphia and the New York Islanders.
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GOLDEN KNIGHTS OUTLOOK
The Golden Knights will raise their Western Conference championship banner in a pre-game ceremony on Thursday night. While home teams often come out flat on banner nights, it certainly did not seem to affect the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. The Caps went out and crushed the Boston Bruins, 7-0.
Vegas has retained most of its roster from last season, including former Flyers checking center Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. The most notable departure was James Neal, now with the Calgary Flames. Former Flyers defenseman Luca Sbisa has also departed since last season and is now with the New York Islanders. In the meantime, there are two high-profile additions to the Golden Knights in former Montreal Canadiens left winger Max Pacioretty and former Winnipeg Jets center Paul Stastny.
Last season, William Karlsson shocked the entire NHL with a 43-goal, 78-point season after Vegas claimed him from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Expansion Draft. Linemate Jonathan Marchessault enjoyed a 75-point season.
Golden Knights center Cody Eakin (11 goals, 27 points last season) and winger Alex Tuch (15 goals, 37 points in 2017-18) will start the season on the injured reserve list. Defenseman Nate Schmidt will serve the first game of a 20-game suspension by the NHL for a positive PED test.
2017-18 TEAM STAT COMPARISONS (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 3.04 (12th), Golden Knights 3.27 (5th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.88 (14th), Golden Knights 2.74 (8th)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 20.7% (15th), Golden Knights 21.4% (11th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 75.8% (29th), Golden Knights 81.4% (T-10th)
Shots on goal per game: Flyers 32.1 (17th), Golden Knights 32.8 (T-10th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 29.9 (5th), Golden Knights 30.7 (7th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 53.3% (3rd), Golden Knights 48.9% (T-22nd)
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux -14 Sean Couturier -11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom -19 Nolan Patrick - 93 Jakub Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk - 24 Mikhail Vorobyev - 17 Wayne Simmonds
21 Scott Laughton - 15 Jori Lehterä - 12 Michael Raffl
9 Ivan Provorov - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
47 Andrew MacDonald - 8 Robert Hägg
6 Travis Sanheim - 3 Radko Gudas
35 Brian Elliott
41 Anthony Stolarz
Scratches: 40 Jordan Weal (healthy), 22 Dale Weise (healthy), 26 Christian Folin (healthy), 33 Calvin Pickard (visa), 30 Michal Neuvirth (lower body), 49 Alex Lyon (lower body), 38 Corban Knight (upper body), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
GOLDEN KNIGHTS
81 Jonathan Marchessault - 71 William Karlsson - 19 Reilly Smith
67 Max Pacioretty- 26 Paul Stastny - 56 Erik Haula
92 Tomas Nosek - 24 Oscar Lindberg - 40 Ryan Carpenter
28 William Carrier - 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 75 Ryan Reaves
3 Brayden McNabb - 6 Colin Miller
27 Shea Theoodre - 5 Deryk Engelland
15 Jon Merrill - 22 Nick Holden
29 Marc-Andre Fleury
[30 Malcolm Subban]
Scratches: 45 Jake Bischoff (healthy), Brad Hunt (healthy), 21 Cody Eakin (IR), 89 Alex Tuch (IR), 88 Nate Schmidt (NHL suspension).
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