Preseason 5 Things: Flyers vs. Capitals

Playing the third match of their six-game preseason schedule, the Philadelphia Flyers (1-1-0 in exhibition play) return home on Wednesday to host the Washington Capitals (0-1-0) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 7:00 p.m. EDT.

The game will be televised locally on NBCSP+ and nationally on NHL Network. The Flyers' radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on
Flyers Radio 24/7
.
Here are five stories to track for this game:
1. Debut for Provorov/Tony D Combo
For the first time in the preseason, the Flyers' lineup will feature numerous players who figure to play upper lineup roles in the regular season. For one, it will be the first game with Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton in the Philadelphia lineup. For another, the Flyers' projected top two defensive pairings will be on the ice together.

Most notably, Wednesday's game will be the preseason debut for the pairing of Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo. The Flyers hope they can establish chemistry in reading off one another and getting the puck moving up ice.

DeAngelo recently said that, when he's on the ice, his first look with the puck is usually to his partner. On Wednesday, watch for the D-to-D puck movement both when the players look to generate breakouts from their own zone and also when the play moves up ice.

The Flyers second pair on defense, Travis Sanheim on the left and Rasmus Ristolainen on the right, played together most of last season. Sanheim will look to build off his Barry Ashbee Trophy winning campaign from 2021-22.
2. Atkinson and Hart Precautions
Flyers No.1 goaltender Carter Hart remains day-to-day with a lower-body injury while veteran scoring winger Cam Atkinson is still day-to-day with an upper-body issue. Both players have been on the ice with teammates the last few days but neither has yet been cleared to play.
Atkinson practiced with the non-game group the last two days, while Hart was out with the goalies. Owen Tippett skated on his off-wing at Tuesday's practice with Atkinson on the right wing of Kevin Hayes' line. With Atkinson not playing in games yet, Tippett figures to return to his more accustomed right wing spot. Isaac Ratcliffe, who was also in the lineup for Tuesday's game against Buffalo, could be plugged into the left wing spot to keep the other three lines intact. It would be a scoring-line opportunity for Ratcliffe after skating on more of an energy/checking type of line combo in Buffalo.
With Hart still out, the goalie plan for Wednesday is for Felix Sandström and Samuel Ersson to get the game for Philadelphia. In Buffalo on Tuesday, Troy Grosenick played the first 40 minutes while Ersson played the third period. If Sandström goes the first two periods against Washington, that will give 40 minutes of ice time to each of Grosenick, Sandström and Ersson over the back-to-back set.
Tryout veteran center Artem Anisimov remains sidelined with a lower-body injury that he seemed to suffer while blocking a shot during Saturday's preseason opener against Boston. He was not on the ice for the Flyers' last two practices. Following is the potential Flyers lineup against the Capitals:
74 Owen Tippett - 13 Kevin Hayes - 52 Tyson Foerster
62 Olle Lycksell - 21 Scott Laughton - 57 Wade Allison
44 Nic Deslauriers- 58 Tanner Laczynski - 42 Hayden Hodgson
71 Max Willman - 81 Jordy Bellerive - 76 Isaac Ratcliffe
9 Ivan Provorov - 77 Tony DeAngelo
6 Travis Sanheim -55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 54 Egor Zamula
32 Felix Sandström
33 Samuel Ersson
3. Special Teams
The Flyers cashed in on a 5-on-3 power play in the preseason opener against Boston. However, a lengthy 5-on-3 against Buffalo on Tuesday was poorly executed and the team struggled in general in going 0-for-3 on the man advantage in that game.
The Flyers did a little bit of power play practice in a morning skate environment but there has not been in-depth systems work done in camp yet. Generally, special teams success or struggles in the preseason have very little to do with what to expect in the regular season. For one thing, the personnel changes from game-to-game until the last exhibition game or two.
That said, the Flyers have a dire need to improve the power play under new assistant coach Rocky Thompson compared to their horrific showing on the man advantage last year. In 2021-22, the Flyers had their worst power play success rate in franchise history since the NHL started officially recording power play opportunities and conversions in 1977-78..
Based on historical box score research, the 2021-22 campaign was the second worst power play year in Flyers team history. Only the team's inaugural 1967-68 season (12.3 percent, 33-for-269) came in lower than the 12.6 percent (30-for-239) that the Flyers posted last season.
On a brighter note, the Flyers have opened the 2022 preseason by going 9-for-9 on the penalty kill. Last season, the Flyers were over 80 percent on the PK up through the leaguewide Christmas break but the bottom dropped out in the second half of the season.
4. Assistants Behind the Bench
New Flyers head coach John Tortorella will remain up at press box level to observe Wednesday's game. The preseason plan was for Ian Laperriere and his Phantoms assistants (Jason Smith and Riley Armstrong) to coach the first couple games. Flyers assistant Brad Shaw would then be the acting head coach behind the bench, assisted by Thompson and Darryl Williams. Tortorella will take over -- and also make out the lineups -- with the full NHL staff assisting him in the final few preseason games.
5. Behind Enemy Lines; Capitals
Washington opened the preseason at home with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres. Anthony Mantha, Conor Sheary and Joe Snively scored for the Capitals in regulation. Zach Fucale (30:04 TOI, 15 saves on 17 shots) got the start in goal with Hunter Shepard (31:11 TOI, nine saves on 11 shots) taking over midway through regulation.
Charlie Lindgren is the expected starter in goal on Wednesday. The Capitals' game-group roster for Philadelphia is embedded below.