Game 4: Flyers vs. Panthers

The Flyers (2-0-1) will wrap up their season-opening homestand on Saturday, when they play host to the unbeaten Florida Panthers (4-0-0). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcasted on NBCSP and 97.5 The Fanatic.

This is the first of three meetings this season between the teams, and the lone game in Philadelphia. The clubs will rematch in Sunrise on Nov. 24 and March 10.

Flyers Outlook

The Flyers are likely to be without top-pairing defenseman Ryan Ellis for at least one game. Ellis, who said last week that he was dealing with a nagging lower-body issue but played very well for his new team through the first three games of the regular season, did not practice on Friday. Head coach Alain Vigneault was not optimistic that Ellis would be able to play on Saturday. However, the coach added that it's not expected to be a long-term absence.

Carter Hart will get the start in goal. Meanwhile, left winger Joel Farabee will look to extend his season-opening goal streak to four games. Linemate Cam Atkinson took a maintenance day on Friday but is expected to play in this game.

Through three games, the Flyers have outscored their first three opponents by a combined 16-9 margin. On special teams, they are 3-for-7 on the power play and 7-for-9 on the penalty kill.

Panthers Outlook

Coming off a 4-1 home win against Colorado on Thursday, Florida has outscored its first four opponents by a combined 18-7 margin. On special teams, the Panthers are 2-for-15 on the power play and 19-for-22 on the penalty kill.

Former Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky earned his 300th career NHL regular season win in the game against the Avalanche. Joe Thornton was scratched.

For an in-depth look at the Panthers and storylines to track for this game, see today's Five Things feature on the Flyers' official website.

Projected Lineups

FLYERS

28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 19 Derick Brassard - 89 Cam Atkinson
23 Oskar Lindblom - 21 Scott Laughton - 25 James van Riemsdyk
62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel - 44 Nate Thompson - 17 Zack MacEwen

9 Ivan Provorov - 61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim - 70 Rasmus Ristolainen
3 Keith Yandle - 24 Nick Seeler

79 Carter Hart
[35 Martin Jones]

PANTHERS (based on Thursday)

23 Carter Verhaeghe - 16 Aleksander Barkov - 10 Anthony Duclair
11 Jonathan Huberdeau - 9 Sam Bennett - 74 Owen Tippett
70 Patric Hörnqvist - 15 Anton Lundell - 13 Sam Reinhart
77 Frank Vatrano - 27 Eetu Luostarinen - 17 Mason Marchment

52 MacKenzie Weegar - 5 Aaron Ekblad
2 Gus Forsling - 7 Radko Gudas
44 Kevin Connauton - 62 Brandon Montour

72 Sergei Bobrovsky
[30 Spencer Knight]

**********

Phantoms Preview: 10/23/21 vs. Hartford Wolf Pack

Ian Laperriere's winless Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-2-0) will look to get on the winning track on Saturday when they play their home opener against Kris Knoblauch's Hartford Wolf Pack (2-1-1). Game time at the PPL Center is 7:05 ET.

The Phantoms have had all kinds of early issues, both during the preseason and the first two games of the regular season in scoring goals whether at even strength or on the power play. This past Sunday, the Phantoms actually had the better of the play for much of the late afternoon tilt against the defensively stingy Hershey Bears but went down to a 2-1 defeat. On night earlier, the Phantoms had a somewhat similar game in a 2-1 defeat by the host Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

That is a carryover from the four-game preseason, where the Phantoms scored a combined six regulation goals (plus an overtime winner) despite a slew of power play chances and posted a 1-3-0 record.

In fairness, Filip Lindberg cranked out a gem in net for WB/S in the opener last Saturday and Hershey's Zach Fucale was even better on Sunday. Nonetheless, the Phantoms will have to start finding ways to put the puck in the net. Tyson Foerster (PPG) and Gerry Mayhew (6-on-5) have the lone Lehigh Valley goals so far.

On Sunday, the Phantoms finished the game with a 6-on-3 for 67 seconds -- a two-man advantage plus an extra attacker with goalie Samuel Ersson pulled -- and didn't generate a single bonafide scoring chance. Morgan Frost spent the last 10 minutes of the game on the bench, even during the 6-on-3, because Laperriere felt the center had played defensively subpar games over the weekend.

One bright spot last weekend: both Felix Sandström and Ersson provided strong starts in net for the Phantoms. Sandström was under siege early in the Pens game (a 14-6 shot disadvantage for the Phantoms with multiple Grade-A chances for WB/S) but held his team in the game. Another bright spot: rookie defenseman Cam York set up both of the Lehigh Valley goals to date.

This past Sunday, 19-year-old prospect Samu Tuomaala was a healthy scratch after he struggled mightily in the opener the previous day. For tonight's home opener, the Phantoms should have sparkplug forward Max Willman back in the lineup. Willman was recalled to the Flyers last week and dressed in the first two games of the season before he was returned to Lehigh Valley when Zack MacEwen jointed the Flyers' active roster.


20 Max Willman 23 Morgan Frost 71 Tyson Foerster
19 Isaac Ratcliffe 9 Cal O'Reilly 26 Gerry Mayhew
49 Garrett Wilson 17 German Rubtsov 15 Max Sushko
24 Brendan Saulnier 25 Connor Bunnaman 18 Jackson Cates

44 Cam York 29 Wyatte Wylie
4 Egor Zamula 5 Adam Clendening
6 Linus Högberg 22 Logan Day

32 Felix Sandström
[30 Samuel Ersson]

Join the Discussion: » 191 Comments » Post New Comment

» Lightning Strike Takes Down Jets

» Practice Day, Ersson, Jay Greenberg, A Personal Note

» Flyers Gameday: Game 12 vs. BOS

» Wrap: Brink Lifts Flyers over Blues, 2-1

» Game 11 Preview: Flyers vs. STL