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Flyers Gameday: 3/16/24 @ BOS; Phantoms Update |
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UPDATE 12:30 p.m. EDT
The Flyers held an 11:30 a.m. morning skate at TD Garden. Felix Sandström will get the start in goal. Travis Sanheim, who is playing through an injury (as is Cam York), took a maintenance morning but is expected to play in the game. Based on rushes, it appears that Cam Atkinson will return to starting lineup and Bobby Brink will return to the scratch list.
86 Joel Farabee - 21 Scott Laughton - 11 Travis Konecny
27 Noah Cates - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway
74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 71 Tyson Foerster
15 Denis Gurianov - 14 Sean Couturier - 89 Cam Atkinson
8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim
18 Marc Staal - 23 Ronnie Attard
5 Egor Zamula- 77 Erik Johnson
32 Felix Sandström
[33 Samuel Ersson]
PP1: York, Konecny, Frost, Tippett, Farabee
PP2: Zamula, Foerster, Lauhton, Gurianov, Atkinson
Potential scratches: 10 Bobby Brink (healthy), 44 Nic Deslauriers or 15 Denis Gurianov.
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Game 68 Preview: Flyers @ Bruins
With 15 games remaining in their 2023-24 regular season schedule, the Philadelphia Flyers (34-25-8) are in Massachusetts on Saturday to take on the Boston Bruins (39-14-15) on Saturday evening. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT.
The Flyers, four points ahead of the New York Islanders with two fewer games left to play, are trying to hold on to third place in the Metropolitan Division. The Bruins, one point behind the Florida Panthers with Florida holding one game in hand are battling for first place in the Atlantic Division.
This is the second of three meetings between the teams this season and the lone game in Boston. On January 27 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Bruins defeated the Flyers by a 6-2 score. Tyson Foerster scored twice in a losing cause. The season series will conclude with a matinee in Philadelphia on March 23.
The Flyers have lost six of their last 10 games (4-5-1). The team brings a 17-11-5 road record into Saturday's game. On Thursday, the Flyers sustained a 6-2 home loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Owen Tippett (power play) and Foerster (first career shorthanded goal) tallied for the Flyers.
The Bruins, 5-2-3 over their last 10 games, are currently one point behind the Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins bring a 21-8-6 home record into Saturday's game. The Bruins suffered a 5-1 home loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday and a 2-1 overtime road win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Philly is almost overdue for a step-up team performance against Boston. Entering Saturday's game, the Flyers' last win over the Bruins came back on Oct. 20, 2021. Since then, the Flyers are 0-6-0 in head-to-head meetings with the Bruins.
The Flyers did not practice on Friday before departing for Boston. They will hold an 11:30 a.m. morning skate on Saturday at TD Garden.
Projected Saturday lineups will be posted as a blog update prior to game time.
LAST GAMES' STARTING LINEUPS
FLYERS
74 Owen Tippett - 21 Scott Laughton - 11 Travis Konecny
27 Noah Cates - 25 Ryan Poehling - 19 Garnet Hathaway
86 Joel Farabee - 48 Morgan Frost - 71 Tyson Foerster
15 Denis Gurianov - 14 Sean Couturier - 10 Bobby Brink
8 Cam York - 6 Travis Sanheim
18 Marc Staal - 23 Ronnie Attard
5 Egor Zamula- 77 Erik Johnson
33 Samuel Ersson
[32 Felix Sandström]
BRUINS
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Phantoms Move into Playoff Position Despite Shootout Loss
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms entered this week with a golden opportunity to strengthen their hand in the push for the final Calder Cup playoff spot in the AHL's Atlantic Division: Tied in points with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the Phantoms held two games in hand.
This week, the Phantoms played two games while Springfield was idle. On Wednesday, the Phantoms were blanked, 3-0, by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On Friday, the Flyers played the first of back-to-back road games against the Providence Bruins.
The Phantoms took leads of 1-0 (second period), 2-1 (third period), and 3-2 (8:10 of the third period) on goals by Cooper Marody (15th), Olle Lycksell (19th), and Tanner Laczynski (9th). Adam Brooks (2a) and Lycksell (1g, 1a) each posted two points. Unfortunately, Lehigh Valley was unable to protect or build upon any of the one-goal leads. Just 32 seconds after the Laczynski goal, Reilly Walsh tallied his second goal of the game -- Georgii Merkulov also scored for Providence -- to forge a 3-3 deadlock.
Neither team scored in overtime. In the shootout, J.R. Avon (entering the night 5-for-6 in shootout attempts) was denied in the first round. Merkulov scored on his attempt. In the second round, neither Laczynski nor John Farinacci converted their respective attempts. In the third round, Lycksell needed to score to prolong the shootout. He was stopped, and the bonus point went to the Bruins.
The Phantoms, of course, wanted more than one of possible points from their last two games. Nonetheless, it was just enough for the Phantoms to move one point ahead of Springfield into sixth place in the Atlantic. On Saturday, the Phantoms and Bruins will rematch in Providence. Game time is 7:05 p.m. EDT. Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds are in North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Checkers.
Friday's Lineup:
13 Brendan Furry - 22 Rhett Gardner - 27 Samu Tuomaala
28 Olle Lycksell - 9 Tanner Laczynski - 24 Adam Brooks
16 J.R. Avon - 56 Jacob Gaucher - 20 Cooper Marody
10 Evan Polei - 91 Elliot Desnoyers - 14 Zayde Wisdom
6 Emil Andrae - 2 Helge Grans
37 Adam Ginning - 7 Louie Belpedio
3 Adam Karashik - 5 Ethan Samson
40 Cal Petersen
[31 Parker Gahagen]
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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