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Flyers Gameday: 10/21/17 vs. EDM, Phantoms Update

October 21, 2017, 8:35 AM ET [123 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
UPDATE 11:45 AM

Wayne Simmonds will play after a maintenance day yesterday. Taylor Leier (upper body) will not. Jordan Weal practiced yesterday but will miss his 2nd straight game with an upper-body injury. Matt Read and Jori Lehterä are in the lineup. Brian Elliott is in goal.


GAME 8 PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. OILERS

In the fourth match of a five-game homestand, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (4-3-0) host Todd McLellan's Edmonton Oilers (2-4-0) on Saturday in a rare October matinee. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSP.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-conference teams, and the lone game in Philadelphia. They will rematch in Edmonton on Dec. 6.

Last season, the clubs split two games with the home side winning each on. On Dec. 8, 2016, the Flyers prevailed in a wild 6-5 affair at Wells Fargo Center. On Feb. 16 in Edmonton, the Oilers doubled up the Flyers, 6-3.

Flyers Outlook

The Flyers are 2-1-0 thus far on the homestand. After blowout wins against the Washington Capitals (8-2) and Florida Panthers (5-1), the Flyers came out on the wrong end of a 1-0 score on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. The game was a much tighter-checking contest than most of the Flyers' previous six games this season, including their 6-5 loss in Nashville in the fourth game of the season.

Michal Neuvirth has started each of the last two games in goal, and has been excellent in all three starts to date. However, Brian Elliott may get the call on Saturday. With an afternoon game on the docket, there will not be a morning skate.

To date, the Flyers have scored seven power play goals on 31 opportunities (22.6 percent, 12th in the NHL) and yielded one opposing shorthanded goal. On the penalty kill, Philly is 21-for-27 (77.8 percent, 20th in the NHL) with Scott Laughton (Oct. 14 vs. Washington) having scored the team's lone shorthanded goal to date. At 5-on-5, the Flyers have scored 15 times and yielded eight goals.

From all appearances at Friday's practice, Travis Sanheim will remain in the Flyers' lineup after a strong game against Nashville. If so, Brandon Manning will be a healthy scratch. Jordan Weal officially remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury but participated fully in practice on Friday.

Wayne Simmonds, who left Tuesday's game early for precautionary reasons with a lower-body injury (speculated to be a groin issue) and then suffered a facial injury on Thursday when an errant stick near the bench caught him flush near the mouth, did not participate in Friday's practice. Neither did fourth line left winger Taylor Leier. According to Flyers general manager Ron Hextall, both players took maintenance days.

Matt Read practiced in Simmonds' second-line right wing spot on Thursday, along with linemates Weal and Valtterri Filppula. Jori Lehterä, who was ineffective in his Flyers debut on Thursday in place of Weal, skated in Leier's fourth-line left wing spot on Friday, alongside Laughton and Michael Raffl.

Oilers Outlook

Edmonton is off to a slow start offensively. Thus far, the club has mustered just 13 goals in six games (29th in the 31-team NHL), while yielding 20. That is unlikely to last for much longer, however, as the Oilers have plenty of speed and firepower beyond reigning Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid (two goals, six points to date). The team also has players with size and muscle to complement the speedy guys.

The Oilers enter this game coming off a 2-1 overtime road win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. Former Flyers farmhand Patrick Maroon responded to an early Patrick Kane goal in the first period. An outstanding goaltending performance by Cam Talbot (30 saves on 31 shots), a 5-for-5 night on the penalty kill and a Mark Letestu overtime goal in the final 16 seconds of sudden death lifted the Oilers to victory. The winning goal came on the Oilers' 42nd shot of the game on Anton Forsberg.

On Friday, the Oilers practiced at the Flyers long-ago training home, the Class of 1923 rink at the University of Pennsylvania. Both Leon Draisaitl (eye/ concussion-like symptoms) and Drake Caggiula (undisclosed) practiced with the team. The players are currently on injured reserve. Draisaitl later said that he is not yet symptom-free, so he will remain unavailable to play for the time being.

Andrej Sekera (knee) is also on injured reserve and remains out after offseason surgery to repair a torn ACL. Matt Benning (illness) is day-to-day and questionable for Saturday.

To date, the Oilers have scored four power play goals on 21 opportunities (19.0 percent, 16th in the NHL) and yielded one opposing shorthanded goal. On the penalty kill, Edmonton is 20-for-27 (74.1 percent, 30th in the NHL). At 5-on-5, the Oilers have scored seven times and yielded 12 goals.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (Note: will be updated)

Flyers

28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
15 Jori Lehterä - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 17 Wayne Simmonds
22 Dale Weise - 19 Nolan Patrick - 11 Travis Konecny
24 Matt Read - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl

9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 8 Robert Hägg
6 Travis Sanheim- 3 Radko Gudas

37 Brian Elliott
[30 Michal Neuvirth]

Scratches: Jordan Weal (upper body), Taylor Leier (upper body), Brandon Manning (healthy).

OILERS

19 Patrick Maroon - 97 Connor McDavid - 56 Kailer Yamamoto
27 Milan Lucic - 93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 18 Ryan Strome
36 Jussi Jokinen - 24 Brad Malone - 44 Zack Kassian
26 Iiro Pakarinen - 55 Mark Letestu - 58 Anton Slepyshev

77 Oscar Klefbom - 6 Adam Larsson
4 Kris Russell - 81 Yohann Auvitu
25 Darnell Nurse - 62 Eric Gryba

33 Cam Talbot
[1 Laurent Brossoit]

Scratches: Leon Draisaitl (IR, concussion-like symptoms and swollen eye), Drake Caggiula (IR, undisclosed injury), Matt Benning (illness, day-to-day), Andrej Sekera (IR, knee), Brian Ferlin (IR, undisclosed), Ryan Stanton (IR, foot).

************

PHANTOMS BEAT BRIDGEPORT, HEAD TO BINGHAMTOM

A Gordie Howe hat trick by pint-sized Lehigh Valley Phantoms speedster Danick Martel highlighted a 5-2 win over the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Friday night at the PPL Center in Allentown. The 22-year-old left winger notched his sixth and seventh goals of the young season, notched an assist on a Phil Varone (2nd goal of the season) empty netter and dropped the gloves with Kyle Burroughs in the second period.

The Phantoms also got a shorthanded goal by Chris Conner (1st) and a first period even strength goal by Greg Carey (3rd) as well three assists by defenseman Mark Alt. The Phantoms built a 3-0 lead before the Sound Tigers struck back for closely spaced third period tallies by Steve Bernier and former Flyers/Phantoms forward Ben Holmstrom.

Making his first start as a Phantom, goaltender Dustin Tokarski stopped 31 of 33 shots to earn the win. Kristers Gudlevskis made 27 saves in defeat.

The win was a costly one for the Phantoms. Highly touted rookie defenseman Phil Myers left the game late in the first period and did not return. There was no update on his status. The Phantoms were already missing injured AHL All-Star offensive defenseman T.J. Brennan, who will also miss Saturday's game.

The Phantoms improved to 4-1-1 on the season and remained undefeated (3-0-0) at home to start the season. On Saturday, the Phantoms are on the road to take on the Binghamton Devils.

Lehigh Valley took a 1-0 lead at 4:36 of the first period on a give-and-go hookup on the rush between Varone and Carey. From the left wing, Carey took the pass from Varone and snapped a shot past Gudlevskis. Rookie defenseman Mark Friedman received the secondary assist.

Tokarski made 10 saves in the first period as the Phantoms took a 1-0 lead to the locker room. None were better than a diving glove save on Casey Bailey from point blank range that was similar to the highlight reel save Flyers goaltender Michal Neuvirth made on the LA Kings' Anze Kopitar earlier this month. Lehigh Valley generated nine shots on goal.

The skinny lead was finally expanded in the latter stages of the second period.

At 14:23, after being sprung on a perfect bank pass by rookie center Mike Vecchione, Martel scored his sixth goal of the season. Sam Morin got the secondary assist. At 18:53, Conner put a seeming stranglehold on the game on a shorthanded counter rush. Conner received a cross-ice pass from Steven Swavely and, from the right wing, beat Gudlevskis for a 3-0 lead.

The Phantoms dominated most of the middle stanza overall, enjoying an 18-7 shot edge, and took their three-goal cushion to the locker room.

The cushion deflated back to a single goal by the time there was 12:50 remaining in a third period that saw Bridgeport put on a heavy push and outshoot Lehigh Valley, 16-5. After Bernier scored at 6:23, Holmstrom sliced the deficit to 3-2 just 47 seconds later.

Tokarski had to step up several times to keep the Phantoms ahead. Finally, over the last two-plus minutes of the game, Lehigh Valley pulled away for good.

At 17:49, the crafty Martel was the first to a loose puck atop the goalmouth and stashed the puck home for a 4-2 lead. Alt and Nicolas Aube-Kubel got the assists. Varone then added empty netter, assisted by Martel and Alt, with 14 ticks left on the clock. Martel actually had a crack at his third goal of the game -- a traditional hat trick -- but "settled" for the Gordie instead with an unselfish pass to Varone for a surefire goal.

Highly touted rookie Phantoms left winger Oskar Lindblom had two shots on goal but remained pointless on the season through six games. Russian center Mikhail Vorobyev, playing down in the lineup, also did not get a point.
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