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Flyers Gameday: Game 8 vs. MIN |
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Preview: Flyers vs. Wild
Opening a weekend back-to-back set of games and desperately needing a win to snap a six-game winless streak, the Philadelphia Flyers (1-5-1) will host the Minnesota Wild (5-0-2) on Saturday afternoon. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EDT.
There is no morning skate on Saturday. Neither Cam York nor Travis Konecny practiced on Friday. Of the two, Konecny appears to be the likelier to play on Saturday. If "TK" is able to play, the apparent healthy scratches for Saturday are Bobby Brink (second straight game) and Jett Luchanko (third straight game). Brink filled in for Konecny on Friday and would probably return to the lineup if Konecny is not able to go on Saturday.
Actual starting lineups will be posted to the blog during pre-game warmups. Below are the Flyers practice lines at forward and the power play on Friday.
10 Bobby Brink - 14 Sean Couturier - 39 Matvei Michkov
74 Owen Tippett - 48 Morgan Frost - 19 Garnet Hathaway
21 Scott Laughton - 25 Ryan Poehling - 71 Tyson Foerster
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 27 Noah Cates - 86 Joel Farabee
Extra forward: 17 Jett Luchanko
PP1: Dysdale, Tippett, Frost, Brink, Michkov
PP2: Zamula, Foerster, Couturier, Laughton, Farabee
Without York, the Flyers did a lot of experimenting with personnel at Friday's practice, rotating partners on different reps. It remains to be seen, if York is out, whether Erik Johnson rejoins the Flyers' lineup on Saturday or the team calls up a defenseman (such as Emil Andrae).
The goalie matchup for Saturday will likely put Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson against Samuel Ersson. The two Swedes were Tre Kronor teammates at the 2024 IIHF World Championships.
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Phantoms Update
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms began their first three-in-three weekend gauntlet of the season with a 4-3 overtime road loss on Friday to the Hartford Wolf Pack. Benoit-Olivier Grouxl (3rd goal of the season) won the game for Hartford at the 39-second mark of overtime.
Rodrigo Abols (2nd), Oscar Eklind (1st) and Samu Tuomaala (PPG, 2nd) scored for Ian Laperriere's team in regulation. Olle Lycksell, Hunter McDonald, Elliot Desnoyers, J.R. Avon, Anthony Richard (PPA) and Emil Andrae (PPA) chipped in one helper apiece. In net, rookie Aleksei Kolosov stopped 26 of 30 shots in a losing cause.
The Phantoms will host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday evening (7:05 p.m. EDT) and Sunday afternoon (3:05 p.m. EDT) at PPL Center.
Phantoms Friday night lineup:
90 Anthony Richard - 22 Rhett Gardner - 15 Olle Lycksell
13 Brendan Furry - 18 Rodrigo Abols - 27 Samu Tuomaala
43 Oscar Eklind - 16 J.R. Avon - 91 Elliot Desnoyers
17 Garrett Wilson - 56 Jacob Gaucher - 36 Sawyer Boulton
19 Hunter McDonald - 7 Louie Belpedio
6 Emil Andrae - 3 Helge Grans
37 Adam Ginning - 5 Ethan Samson
35 Alexei Kolosov
[32 Eetu Makiniemi]
Scratches: 10 Matt Brown, 12 Ronnie Attard, 20 Cooper Marody (injured), 40 Cal Petersen (projected starter on Saturday), 57 Mason Primeau, 72 Alexis Gendron, 73 Massimo Rizzo, 74 Zayde Wisdom.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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