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Flyers Gameday: 1/23/18 @ DET |
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GAME 48 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ RED WINGS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (23-16-8) are back in action on Tuesday night, visiting the Motor City to take on Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (19-20-7) at Little Caesar's Arena. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NBCSNP.
This is the second of three meetings this season between the teams, and the first of two in the Red Wings' brand new arena. On Dec. 20 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers skated off with a
4-3 win in a seesaw affair. The season series will conclude in Detroit on March 20.
On Dec. 20, the Flyers led 1-0 in the first period but later trailed by scores of 2-1 and 3-2 in the middle frame. For 40 minutes, both teams turned over their share of pucks, allowed themselves to trade off scoring chances and had mental lapses. The third period, however, saw the Flyers take the play to a Red Wings club that played the previous night. Once Philly finally forged ahead, the Wings did not have a sustained push left in them as the Flyers continued to forecheck and finally began to take away time and space up ice.
Dale Weise, Wayne Simmonds (power play), Robert Hägg (1st NHL goal) and Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers. Claude Giroux collected three assists, while Jakub Voracek, Radko Gudas, Nolan Patrick, Shayne Gostisbehere and Simmonds had one apiece. assists. Brian Elliott stopped 26 of 28 shots to earn the win in goal.
Martin Frk (power play), Mike Green (power play) and Gustav Nyquist (10th) scored for Detroit. Dylan Larkin had two assists, while Green, Andreas Athanasiou, Henrik Zetterberg and Anthony Mantha each had one. Jimmy Howard took the loss in goal. He stopped 27 of 31 Flyers shots.
Enter Tuesday's game in Detroit, the Flyers sit in a precarious position in the playoff chase but have a golden opportunity to strengthen their hand. The Flyers, currently in the upper wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference and fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, have 54 points (with 23 regulation/OT wins). By the end of the night, depending on how the Flyers and the various teams above and below them fare, Philly could be boosted as high as second place in the division or dropped out of playoff position.
If the Flyers beat the Red Wings by any means, the worst case scenario is to remain in the higher wildcard. But if a Flyers' win is paired up with a New Jersey Devils regulation loss in Boston and a Columbus Blue Jackets regulation loss in Las Vegas, Philly would jump up into second place in the Metro. If just one of those teams loses in regulation, the Flyers would move into third place in the division.
Conversely, if the Flyers lose, they could be passed by the New York Rangers (playing in Anaheim on Tuesday) and/or Pittsburgh Penguins (hosting Carolina) depending on the outcomes of their games. The Hurricanes, with a win over the Penguins and losses by the other teams they're chasing, could get back within two points of a wildcard spot.
Although the NHL is not yet at the All-Star break, the Red Wings already face slim odds of avoiding the fate of missing the playoffs for a second straight season. They enter play on Tuesday buried 12 points behind third-place Toronto in the Atlantic Division and eight points behind the Rangers for the lower wildcard spot in the East. The Wings would have to pass four Metro Division teams to get into the lower wildcard.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 4-1-0 since their bye week, and 15-5-1 since their 0-5-5 swoon that has the club still below the playoff cutoff line in the Eastern Conference dogfight for postseason positioning. Overall, the Flyers bring a 10-8-4 road record into Tuesday's game.
Philly had an off-day on Monday, as they played three times over the four previous days and a weekend home-and-road back-to-back set against the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals. Tuesday's game will be Philly's fourth in six nights.
The Flyers immensely helped themselves over the weekend with a 3-1 home win over the Devils on Saturday and a gritty 2-1 overtime road win in Washington the next afternoon. Travis Konecny netted the game winner on the first shift of OT. Michael Raffl scored in regulation. Elliott stopped 27 of 28 shots to earn the win.
For the season, the Flyers have scored 2.91 goals per game (14th in the NHL) and have a team 2.79 GAA (tied for 14th). At five-on-five, the Flyers have scored 84 goals (tied for 19th) and yielded 70 (tied for 2nd fewest).
On the power play, the Flyers rank 12th at 20.2 percent (33-for-163) with seven shorthanded goals yielded (tied for fourth most). On the penalty kill, the Flyers rank tied for 28th (110-for-147, 74.8 percent). The Flyers have scored two shorthanded goals; one apiece for Scott Laughton and Simmonds.
RED WINGS OUTLOOK
The Red Wings are playing for the third time in four nights, and the second half of a road-and-home back-to-back set. On Saturday, Carolina downed the host Red Wings, 3-1. On Monday in Newark, the visiting Red Wings blanked the New Jersey Devils by a 3-0 count.
Petr Mrazek played brilliantly in goal, authoring a 37-save shutout. The Wing posted a picket fence on the scoreboard with a first period goal by Tyler Bertuzzi (2nd), a second-period tally by David Booth (4th), and a third-period marker by Dylan Larkin (8th). Larkin also assisted on the first Detroit goal. He leads the team with 38 points.
Veteran goalie Howard is expected to get the start against the Flyers. He has started 35 games this season and made two relief appearances. He brings a 14-5-6 record, 2.74 GAA and .913 save percentage into this game.
Detroit has won six of its last 10 games (6-4-0). At home, the team is 10-9-6. Among the Red Wings' 19 wins overall, three have come via shootout. Detroit is 3-1 in shootouts.
Entering Tuesday's game, Detroit has scored an average 2.61 goals per game (ranked 26th) and has a team 2.98 GAA (21st). At five-on-five, the Red Wings have scored 80 goals (25th) and given up 90 (tied for 19th).
The Red Wings' power play clocks in at 18.9 percent efficiency (27-for-143) to rank 18th in the NHL. Opponents have scored three shorthanded goals. Detroit's penalty kill comes in ranked 22nd at 79.6 percent (117-for-147) but the SHGA-prone Flyers have to be aware of the team's shorthanded counterattacking prowess. The Wings come in with seven shorthanded goals on the season; tied for second most in the NHL. Larkin and Frans Nielsen have two shorthanded goals apiece, while Darren Helm, Luke Glendening and veteran defenseman Trevor Daley each have scored one.
On the injury front, Daley (the honoree of a bobblehead giveaway at Little Caeasar's Arena on Tuesday night) is doubtful due to a lower-body injury. Glendening has been on the injured reserve list with an upper-body injury but could be activated and play on Tuesday. Justin Abdelkader, a thorn in many teams' sides including the Flyers, is doubtful due to a groin pull.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
12 Michael Raffl - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 93 Jakub Voracek
40 Jordan Weal - 19 Nolan Patrick - 17 Wayne Simmonds
56 Tyrell Goulbourne - 21 Scott Laughton - 15 Jori Lehterä
9 Ivan Provorov - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
47 Andrew MacDonald -3 Robert Hägg
23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
37 Brian Elliott
[30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: 20 Taylor Leier (healthy), 22 Dale Weise (healthy), 39 Mark Alt (healthy).
RED WINGS
39 Anthony Mantha - 40 Henrik Zetterberg - 14 Gustav Nyquist
59 Tyler Bertuzzi - 71 Dylan Larkin - 72 Andreas Athanasiou
21 Tomas Tatar - 51 Frans Nielsen - 42 Martin Frk
28 Luke Witkowski - 61 Xavier Ouellet - 17 David Booth
41 Luke Glendening
55 Niklas Kronwall - 25 Mike Green
65 Dan DeKeyser - 3 Nick Jensen
52 Jonathan Ericsson
34 Petr Mrazek
[35 Jimmy Howard]
Scratches 8 Justin Abdelkader (doubtful, groin), 41 Darren Helm (IR, leg), 83 Trevor Daley (doubtful, lower body).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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