Game 41 Preview: FLYERS vs FLAMES
Interim head coach Scott Gordon's Philadelphia Flyers (15-20-5) reach the statistical midpoint of the 2018-19 season on Saturday as they host Bill Peters' Calgary Flames (25-13-4). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at
FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the inter-conference teams, and the lone game in Philadelphia. On Dec. 12 at the Saddledome in Calgary, a late collapse doomed the Flyers to a 6-5 overtime loss.
Two Flames goals in the final 1:08 of regulation, including a game-tying goal with seven ticks left on the clock, sent the game to overtime. The Flames, who had four unsuccessful power plays in the third period and allowed a shorthanded goal along the way, went on to win in OT. Then-Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol would only coach two more games -- losses in Edmonton and Vancouver -- before he was fired the morning after the team returned from its western Canada road trip.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers are winless in five games since the leaguewide holiday break, going 0-4-1 with each of the last four defeats (three on the road, one at home) coming in regulation. Saturday's game represents the midpoint of the season.
On Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers sustained
a 5-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes; the second time within a week that the Flyers have been defeated by the Hurricanes. In the rematch, the Flyers trailed 4-0 in the third period and trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with nearly half a period to go before the Hurricanes restored a two-goal margin.
If there was any silver lining to Thursday's game, it was that the Flyers scored two power play goals in the third period. The team had entered the game mired in a mind-boggling 9-for-93 spell since Oct. 13. Wayne Simmonds and James van Riemsdyk sandwiched man-advantage tallies around a Sean Couturier even-strength goal during the comeback bid against Carolina.
On Friday, the Flyers claimed
much-traveled 35-year-old netminder Mike McKenna off waivers from the Vancouver Canucks. Oft-injured goaltender Michal Neuvirth is sidelined again, officially on a day-to-day basis, with a lower-body injury. McKenna will back up Carter Hart against Calgary.
Nolan Patrick skated in a non-contact jersey again on Friday but is day-to-day with an upper body injury and could return sometime next week. Andrew MacDonald (lower-body injury) has been off the ice since Tuesday's game in Nashville; the team hopes to have him skating again on Monday (Jan. 7).
At the start of Thursday's game, Oskar Lindblom skated right wing on the top line. Travis Konecny, who started the game on the fourth line, was moved back to the first line by the third period. At Friday's practice, Lindblom skated left wing on a line with Scott Laughton and Jakub Voracek while Michael Raffl was with Phil Varone and Dale Weise.
Through 40 games, the Flyers have averaged 2.80 goals per game (24th) and have a team 3.63 GAA (30th). The power play enters at 13.6 percent (16-for-118, 29th) with six opposing shorthanded goals. The penalty kill starts at 74.4 percent (opponents are 33-for-129, 28th) with three shorthanded goals scored.
Flames Outlook
Sitting in first place in the Pacific Division, the Flames and Vegas Golden Knights both have 54 points but Calgary holds the top spot by virtue of having played two fewer games to date. The Flames are 13-9-0 on the road this season, and will play their third game of a four-game road trip. The game in Philadelphia will be Calgary's third in less than four nights after visits to Detroit on Wednesday and Boston on Thursday. The team is 5-3-2 overall in its last 10 games.
Calgary enters this game coming off a 6-4 loss to the Boston Bruins.
The Flames scored first, on a Michael Frolik shorthanded tally (his 9th goal of the season) but trailed 2-1 by the first intermission. After Elias Lindholm's 20th goal of the season (already a full-season career best) knotted game at 2-2 early in the second period, Boston's Brad Marchand restored a Bruins lead on the next shift. The Flames never caught up again on the scoreboard. However, Johnny Gaudreau (23rd) and Mikael Backlund (9th) scored in the third period. Mike Smith took the loss in net, stopping 21 of 26 shots. The final Boston goal was an empty-netter.
Despite the team facing an afternoon game in Philly on Saturday following the back-to-back games in Detroit (5-3 win) and Boston, the Flames practiced on Friday.
Through 42 games, the Flames have averaged 3.57 goals per game (3rd in the NHL) and carry a team 2.83 GAA (tied for 9th). The power play comes in 21.2 percent (32-for-151, 14th) with four opposing shorthanded goals yielded. The penalty kill enters the day at 78.5 percent (opponents are 28-for-130, 19th). The Flames, however, have scored a whopping 13 shorthanded goals; tops in the NHL. Mark Jankowski leads the way with four SHGs.
Projected Lines (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 - 40 Jordan Weal - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 21 Scott Laughton - 22 Dale Weise
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 3 Radko Gudas
8 Robert Hägg - 26 Christian Folin
79 Carter Hart
[56 Mike McKenna]
Scratches: 15 Jori Lehterä (healthy), 44 Phil Varone (healthy), 47 Andrew MacDonald (lower body), 41 Anthony Stolarz (IR, lower body), 30 Michal Neuvirth (lower body), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
FLAMES
13 Johnny Gaudreau - 23 Sean Monahan - 28 Elias Lindholm
19 Matthew Tkachuk - 11 Mikael Backlund - 67 Michael Frolik
93 Sam Bennett- 77 Mark Jankowski - 18 James Neal
27 Austin Czarnik - 10 Derek Ryan - 21 Garnet Hathaway
5 Mark Giordano - 7 T.J.Brodie
55 Noah Hanifin - 24 Travis Hamonic
58 Oliver Kylington - 4 Rasmus Andersson
33 David Rittich
[41 Mike Smith]
Scratches: 6 Dalton Proust (healthy), 29 Dillon Dube (healthy), 8 Jusso Välimäki (IR, lower body), 26 Michael Stone (IR, blood clot), 88 Andrew Mangiapane (IR).
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PHANTOMS WEEKEND 3-IN-3 STARTS OUT WITH LOSS IN PROVIDENCE
A three-games-in-three-nights road trip through New England started out inauspiciously for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (19-11-3) as they suffered a 4-2 loss to the Providence Bruins (15-15-5) on Friday night at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. After going 4-0-1 in their first five games under interim head coach Kerry Huffman, the Phantoms have dropped back-to-back games in regulation.
On Friday, a series of late first-period miscues and undisciplined plays by the Phantoms were cashed in by Providence as a game that was scoreless through the first 17:30 turned into a 3-0 score by the first intermission. A Bruins power play goal by Gemel Smith (his first of two tallies in the period) knocked the Phantoms out of the top spot in the AHL in PK success rate. The first period ended with a fight at the buzzer between Phantoms defenseman T.J. Brennan and Providence defenseman Jeremy Lauzon.
The second period was an odd one. The Phantoms were outshot by a 13-2 margin, yet the only two goals of the period were scored by Lehigh Valley. One of the shots/goals wasn't even intended as a shot. After Chris Conner (11th goal of the season) narrowed the gap with a goal at 8:29, the Phantoms cut the deficit to 2-1 at 13:22. On the play, Mikhail Vorobyev (4th goal of the season) attempted to make a cross-ice pass but the puck deflected off a Providence defenseman and went into the net past Zane McIntyre (20 saves on 22 shots).
Early in the third period, Providence restored a two-goal lead, courtesy of Joona Koppinen. The Phantoms mustered seven shots on goal, but drew no closer.
Alex Lyon, who has played every game since Carter Hart was called up to the Flyers, took the loss in goal on Friday. He stopped 30 of 34 Providence shots.
On Saturday, the visiting Phantoms are in Connecticut to take on the Hartford Wolf Pack (16-15-4) at the XL Center. Game time is 7 p.m. ET. The trip concludes on Sunday with a trip to Massachusetts to play the Springfield Thunderbirds (15-12-7).
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WJC: USA PLAYS FINLAND FOR GOLD MEDAL
The gold medal game is set at the 2018-19 World Junior Championships: Team USA will play Finland for the gold at 8 p.m. ET (NHL Network). Earlier in the day, Russia will play Switzerland for the bronze medal (4 p.m. ET, NHL Network).
On Friday, the Americans built a 2-0 lead and then narrowly held on to beat Russia, 2-1, in orer to advance to the gold medal game. Team USA got goals from Oliver Wahlstrom and Alexander Chmelveski and then rode a 34-save performance from Cayden Primeau (Voorhees native, son of former Flyers captain Keith Primeau) and a bit of defensive puck luck to victory.
Flyers 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee finished the game with four shots on goal. He was minus-one over 29 shifts and 19:40 of ice time. Noah Cates, the Player of the Game in the quarterfinals, had two shots on goal over 17:18 of ice time.
International Ice Hockey Federation rules allow teams to dress 20 skaters per game, so the norm is for teams to dress 13 forwards and 7 defensemen. For the second straight game, Flyers 2018 first-round pick Jay O'Brien dressed for the game as the 13th forward but did not receive a single shift. Fellow Flyers prospect Jack St. Ivany is the team's seventh defenseman. On Friday, he received a single 30-second shift.
In addition to the four Flyers-affiliated prospects, there are several players on the roster who hail from the Delaware Valley. Apart from goaltender Primeau, there is defenseman Mattias Samuelsson, a fellow Voorhees-born Flyers Alumni offspring (his dad is Flyers development coach Kjell Samuelsson), plus Bucks County native forward Evan Barratt.
Team USA played Finland in the final game of the preliminary round (Dec. 31), earning a 4-1 victory. Farabee assisted on the first goal of that game. On Friday, the Finns exploded for four quick goals against Switzerland and never look back on the way to a 6-1 win. Aarne Talvitie scored twice, while linemates Aleksi Heponiemi (one goal, two assists) and Rasmus Kupari (one goal, two assists) had three-point evenings.
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