Flyers look to break seven game losing streak against rival Capitals
By Nick Butler
The Flyers enter tonight having lost seven games in row. The Washington Capitals are not in much of a different situation than the Flyers having lost eight of their last 10 games. Both teams come into this tilt tonight starved for a win and a chance to right the ship. Especially with both teams having been bitten by the injury bug.
This isn’t exactly the match up the NHL thought it would be with the Flyers and Capitals playing on National TV but will still be an entertaining game considering this will be a Metropolitan Division game. I expect gloves to be dropped, big hits against the boards and a whole lot of nastiness to boot.
Both teams will want a win and a savory two points. It is going to come down to who exactly is hungrier on this Thanksgiving Eve.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 7-7-4 (18 points, 6th in the Metro)
The Flyers last win came against the St Louis Blues in what was a commanding performance. Since that 5-1 win on November 8th, the Flyers have lost Travis Konecny, Wade Allison, and Scott Laughton. Three of the guys on this currently spread thin roster who brought energy, skill and high danger chances. The Flyers will have to continue to use the next man up mentality as they look for a win.
Zack MacEwen and Owen Tippett have been carrying a lot of this offensive load for this team. MacEwen has been playing the best hockey of his entire career and has been reminiscent of his time in Vancouver during 19-20 where he played 17 games and had five goals and one assist. MacEwen currently has three goals and four assists in 17 games with a +/- of 2.
Owen Tippett has been quite the sight for Flyers fans’ sore eyes. Scoring six goals and assisting on four for his teammates, Tippett seems to have found his stride and confidence in his new home. Last season he had great chances to put pucks in the back of the net, but like everyone on the roster last season, couldn’t find the light at the end of the tunnel. This season it seems he has embraced his role and ice time and has become one of the go to guys for John Tortorella.
Carter Hart has been the biggest reason why the Flyers have been in games. While the defense isn’t completely to blame, the forwards lack of scoring abilities has been on full display while Hart has kept games close. With empty net goals, most of these games should have been one goal games but the Flyers have just been unable to pick Hart up, especially in the overtime period and (surprise, surprise) the shootout.
Hart once again is excelling at being a bandage for this hockey team dealing with injuries. With a record of 6-4-4 and GAA of 2.68 alongside a SV% of .920. Hart has also seen 474 shots with giving up 38 goals. To put this into perspective, Carter Hart has seen 247 less shots in 13 games less from the 2020-2021 season. This team will continue to have chances to win hockey games as long as Hart continues to shine and excel at what he does.
Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee – Morgan Frost – Owen Tippett
Kevin Hayes – Noah Cates – Zack MacEwen
Jackson Cates – Patrick Brown – Tanner Laczynski
Nicolas Deslauriers – Lukas Sedlak – Kieffer Bellows
Ivan Provorov – Tony DeAngelo
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Nick Seeler – Rasmus Ristolainen
Felix Sandstrom
Washington Capitals
Record: 7-10-3 (17 points, 7th in the Metro)
The Capitals have been in such a bad shape this season with injuries as well. While this has been a newer territory for this team to have such a slow start, they will still be a threat with the Great Eight on the ice alongside his fellow countryman Evgeny Kuznetsov. Expect this team to still play as hard as possible but without their enforcer and usual troublemaker in Tom Wilson, expect this team to get bullied a bit.
The Capitals are currently scoring 2.75 goals per game while giving up 2.9 a game. While the offense hasn’t been as potent as years past, Ovechkin has nine goals eight 8 assists in 20 games, five of those goals coming from the powerplay. Kuznetsov has not been the same goal scoring threat this season. In 19 games, he has two goals and 12 assists. It could be due to the lack of depth but if he starts to find the back of the net, it will become scary for teams to play against.
Moving on from both Sorokin and Vanachek, Darcy Kuemper has left his Stanley Cup winning team in Colorado to chase the money and join Washington. Kuemper is 5-9-1 with a SV% of .907 and GAA of 2.83. This team’s defense is nowhere close to that of the Avalanche, and it is definitely exposing Kuemper a bit. The Flyers should have a chance to score some goals on him tonight.
The overall effort and pace should be in the Flyers favor. They will be able to bully this team without Tom Wilson in the lineup and their top line center in Backstrom will be a big advantage for them. A win tonight would be huge considering eight out of their next 10 are all matchups against Metro Division opponents.
Projected Lineup
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano – Evgeny Kuznetsov – T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson – Lars Eller – Anthony Mantha
Aliaksei Protas – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson – John Carlson
Martin Fehervary – Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper
When, Where, and How to Watch
Time: 7:30 PM
Where: Capital One
Watch: TNT
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
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