Flyers Look to Hit Jackpot in Vegas
By Scott Cole
The Flyers went 2-3-0 on their recent homestand that saw their 10 game losing streak finally come to an end. They picked up wins over the Islanders and the Avalanche. In their last home game, they dropped one to the Washington Capitals.
Now the Flyers head out on a Western Conference swing. Their first opponent is the Vegas Golden Knights. Don’t let the party atmosphere of Vegas fool you. This is a tough team looking for an easy win. And the way the Flyers have been playing, it might not be as easy as they think. Fun fact: The Flyers are 3-1 lifetime playing in Las Vegas, so maybe the odds aren’t with the house here.
Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 9-13-5 (23 points, 7th in Metro)
Yes, they are next to last place, but that won’t last long. JVR just came back and Cam Atikinson is expected to make his season debut with this team very soon. Reinforcements are arriving to help get this team out of its goal scoring doldrums.
More than that, this team is playing tough hockey. It’s not showing up in the standings or box scores, but it is there. In the loss against Washington, the Flyers were tied with the caps until halfway through the third period. It was only when Alex Ovechkin scored two empty net goals that you saw the lopsided 4-1 score.
Travis Konecny is on a four game point streak with three goals and an assist. In his last five games, Kevin Hayes has three goals and three assists. Konecny has 23 points on the season while Hayes has 28. But outside of them, the scoring has been stagnant. The Flyers are 29th in scoring in the NHL. No matter how tough they play, they can’t win unless they can put the biscuit in the basket.
Projected Lineup
Kevin Hayes – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Scott Laughton – Lukas Sedlak – Joel Farabee
James van Riemsdyk – Morgan Frost – Owen Tippett
Nicolas Deslauriers – Patrick Brown – Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov – Rasmus Ristolainen
Travis Sanheim – Justin Braun
Cam York – Nick Seeler
Carter Hart
Vegas Golden Knights
Record: 19-8-5 (1 points, 1st in Pacific)
This team is probably the most astounding team in this sport. This is their sixth season. They have made the playoffs in four of them with a trip to the Stanley Cup finals in their first season and the Western Conference finals in their third. What is more amazing is that they retool their roster every season and somehow don’t really lose a step.
They don’t do one thing great overall, but do all things well. They are eighth in goals scored, 10th in goals against, 16th on the power play, third in fewest penalty minutes taken, but they are weak on the penalty kill at just 25th overall. But when you consider how few penalties they take, it isn’t that much of a weakness.
Their big offseason addition was rescuing Jack Eichel from the Buffalo Sabres and boy has he paid off. He leads the team with 13 goals and 16 assists. After that, take your pick. Reilly Smith has 12 goals and Jonathan Marchessault has 11. They have five other players with double-digits in assists. So while there is no one player to look to stopping, they have a whole team that can contribute. In short, this is the team that I believe John Torotrella wants his Flyers to become.
Logan Thompson has been solid in net this season with a 2.68 GAA, two shutouts, and a save percentage of .918. Backup goalie Adin Hill is no slouch either with a 2.55 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
In their last two games, they dropped the Rangers after returning from a road trip. In their last road game, they ended the Bruins home win streak with a 4-3 win. So, yeah, this is going to be a tough test for Philly.
Projected Lineup
Paul Cotter – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault – William Karlsson – Reilly Smith
Jonas Rondbjerg – Jake Leschysyn – Phil Kessel
William Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Alec Martinez – Zach Whitecloud
Nicolas Hague – Daniil Miromanov
Logan Thompson
Where, When, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 10:00 PM
Where: T-Mobile Arena
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 FM
Live Stream: Fubo Tv
fuboTV has live NHL games on ESPN in which you can stream from your phone, television, and all your favorite devices. This is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series. fuboTV is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Spain.