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Flyers Gameday: 10/18/16 @ CHI |
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Update (12:45 PM ET)
Nick Cousins is a healthy scratch and Roman Lyubimov will make his NHL debut. The changes are reflected in the lineup below.
Preview: Flyers @ Blackhawks
Wrapping up their three-game road trip to start the 2016-17 season, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (1-0-1) take on Joel Quenneville's Chicago Blackhawks (1-2-0) on Tuesday night. Game time at the United Center is 8:30 p.m. ET.
This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-Conference clubs. Last season, the Flyers won both games against the Blackhawks.
The Flyers last played on Saturday, dropping a 4-3 overtime decision to the Arizona Coyotes. They will play their home opener on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks. Chicago earned their first win on the season on Saturday, topping the visiting Nashville Predators, 5-3. The Hawks are on the road on Friday to play the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Flyers Outlook
There has been much to like about the team's performance in the first two games, but the Flyers got off to slow first period starts both in Los Angeles and Arizona. They also suffered too many defensive breakdowns over the first 30 minutes of the Coyotes games although Philadelphia successfully battled back to erase a 3-1 deficit and earn a point from the game.
Fourteen of the Flyers' 18 skaters earned at least one point over the course of the team's 4-2 win in LA and 4-3 OT loss in Arizona. The penalty kill, which allowed only a disputed Shane Doan goal that appeared to be scored off goaltender interference by Christian Dvorak, was solid in the first two games. The power play, which had a would-be goal in Los Angeles immediately and correctly disallowed for goalie interference by Wayne Simmonds, has looked ineffective in its first six opportunities.
The Flyers will feature a change at both even strength and on the power play in Chicago.
At even strength, Matt Read will move from fourth line right wing to third line left wing after strong performances in each of the first two games and a line rush goal in Arizona off a lead pass by second liner Travis Konecny. Nick Cousins will switch from third line left wing to fourth line right wing for this game.
Cousins will also be moved off the first power play unit, where he had been substituting for the suspended Brayden Schenn. Michael Raffl will step in to fill Schenn's forechecking and left hashmarks to left slot role on the unit. At even strength, Raffl has the Flyers' best puck individual possession metrics through when on ice during the small two-game sampling but which is also historically an area in which he contributes effectively.
It appears that Michal Neuvirth will get the nod in goal in Chicago. He stopped 23 of 25 shots in the opener in Los Angeles.
Schenn will serve the third and final game of his NHL suspension that carried over from Game Six of the 2016 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Radko Gudas will serve the third game of his six-game NHL suspension.
Blackhawks Outlook
The first hat trick of right winger Richard Panik's NHL career spurred Chicago to victory over Nashville on Saturday to earn a split of a home-and-home set. The Blackhawks also received goals from defenseman Brent Seabrook and rookie forward Nick Schmaltz in the first period.
In goal, Scott Darling got the call for the second half of the back-to-back games with the Predators and made 33 saves to earn the win. Number one goaltender Corey Crawford, rested in the second half of the back-to-back games, will return to the net to start against the Flyers.
While the victory was much needed for Chicago, there are still areas that head coach Quenneville would like to see his team clean up. The Hawks got outshot by a 16-8 margin in the opening 20 minutes of the game on Saturday and has been playing uncharacteristically undisciplined hockey at times through the first three games.
In particular, the penalty kill has nowhere to go but up for Chicago. Through the first three games, the Blackhawks have already yielded seven opposition power play goals in 13 times shorthanded.
Artemi Panarin is off to a bit of a slow start offensively, producing just one assist in the first three games of the season and has taken four minor penalties. The 2015-16 Calder Trophy winner has generated four shots on goal.
It is only a matter of time before the inevitable explosion of points from perennial Art Ross Trophy candidate Patrick Kane. Through three games, he has no goals and one assist but has already racked up 10 shots on goal. In the meantime, veteran star teammates Duncan Keith (three assists), Jonathan Toews (one assist) and 37-year-old Marian Hossa, whose first goal of the season will be the 500th of his stellar career, are also goalless through three games. Hossa opened Saturday's game on the fourth line with Schmaltz and Tyler Motte.
Ryan Hartman (one goal, two points) is doubtful for this game with a lower-body injury but is officially day-to-day. The team initially feared the winger might be out for a substantial period of time after he left Friday's game in Nashville but the injury turned out to be not nearly as serious as feared. The team has not placed him on injured reserve in order to recall another player. Swedish forward Dennis Rasmussen, a player the Flyers pursed a few years ago before he signed with Chicago, took Hartman's spot in the lineup in the win over Nashville on Saturday.
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk has been a healthy scratch in back-to-back games for Chicago. Based on Chicago's practice combinations on Monday, it appears that TVR remains the odd man out of the starting blueline pairings along with Michal Rozsival.
Projected Lineups (subject to change)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
11 Travis Konecny - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
24 Matt Read 25 -76 P-E Bellemare - 22 Dale Weise
76 Chris VandeVelde - 27 Boyd Gordon - 13 Roman Lyubimov
47 Andrew MacDonald - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
9 Ivan Provorov - 32 Mark Streit
55 Nick Schultz - 23 Brandon Manning
30 Michal Neuvirth
[35 Steve Mason]
Scratches: Brayden Schenn (final game of three-game NHL suspension), Radko Gudas (third game of six-game NHL suspension), Michael Del Zotto (LTIR), Scott Laughton (LTIR), Nick Cousins (healthy).
BLACKHAWKS
64 Tyler Motte - 19 Jonathan Toews - 14 Richard Panik
72 Artemi Panarin- 15 Artem Anisimov - 88 Patrick Kane
48 Vinnie Hinostroza - 8 Nick Schmaltz - 81 Marian Hossa
70 Dennis Rasmussen - 16 Marcus Krüger - 22 Jordin Tootoo
2 Duncan Keith - 4 Niklas Hjalmarsson
6 Michal Kempny- 7 Brent Seabrook
42 Gustav Forsling - 51 Brian Campbell
50 Corey Crawford
[33 Scott Darling]
Scratches: Michal Rozsival (healthy), Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy), Ryan Hartman (doubtful, lower body).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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