Cam Atkinson Returns To Columbus As Flyers Face Blue Jackets
Just two days after losing 4-2 at home against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Philadelphia Flyers will now play in Columbus tonight on the second half of the home-and-home series.
The Flyers had no answer defensively for the Blue Jackets attack in the first game on Tuesday night, but a positive takeaway was that Noah Cates scored his first NHL goal of his career. Cates is looking more and more as though he will make a great addition to Philadelphia’s lineup for years to come.
The same can also be said for Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett, as all three of these young players are providing the Flyers organization with consistently impressive performances during an otherwise depressing season.
Philadelphia Flyers
22-37-11 (55 pts, 7th in Metro)
While most Flyers fans have still been in an uproar over Keith Yandle’s ironman streak ending for essentially no reason, as he was tossed back into the lineup almost immediately after Mike Yeo snapped his playing streak, it seems on the surface as though the Flyers are not taking this look at their youth players seriously enough.
On the same day that Yandle’s streak was snapped for rookie Ronnie Attard to debut, a 37-year-old Nate Thompson returned to the lineup, as if Mike Yeo hadn’t just announced the team was scratching a legendary and well-respected veteran in Yandle to give playing time to young guys from the NCAA and AHL.
Thompson, a veteran forward with just 22 games under his belt and only two points to show for it, remains in the lineup as Hayden Hodgson was finally sent down to the AHL-affiliated Lehigh Valley Phantoms despite scoring more points in his NHL debut than Thompson had all season so far.
Cam Atkinson will be making his return to Columbus for the first time as an opponent. While the team teams have faced off before, expect this to be an emotional game for the Flyers’ forward. Atkinson spent 10 years with the Blue Jackets and was a well-respected and liked player among the team and fan base.
With no real rhyme or reason to Mike Yeo’s decision-making, and some lingering injuries for Zack MacEwen and Nick Seeler, let’s take a look at the projected lineups for tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Projected Lineup
Farabee – Laughton – Atkinson
van Riemsdyk – Frost – Konecny
Cates – Hayes – Tippett
Lindblom – Thompson – Brown
Provorov – York
Sanheim – Ristolainen
Connauton – Attard
Jones
Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 33-32-6 (72 pts, 6th in Metro)
While Columbus is still 14 points out from competing for one of the two Wild Card slots in the Eastern Conference, they have had a stronger season and the proof was on full display on Tuesday night in their first of two-straight games against each other.
Patrick Laine, the Blue Jackets’ leading scorer, is currently playing at a point-per-game rate, but has only played in 52 of CBJ’s 71 games played this year. Former-Flyers forward Jakub Voracek is the next leading scorer with 51 points, but with only five of those points coming from goals, it is clear that Columbus was missing their best goalscorer.
Offense seemed to be no issue against the bottom-five Flyers on Tuesday night, but tonight is a different day with a different game that–for Flyers fans, at least–will hopefully end in a different outcome.
Projected Lineup
Nyquist – Roslovic – Laine
Voracek – Sillinger – Bemstrom
Danforth – Kuraly – Bjorkstrand
Robinson – Gaunce – Meyer
Werenski – Peeke
Gavrikov – Bean
Christiansen – Boqvist
Merzlikins
When, Where & How to Watch
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Where: Nationwide Arena
TV Broadcast: NBCSP
Radio Broadcast: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo TV
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