GAME 1 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ PENGUINS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers, the third-place team in the Metropolitan Division during the 2017-18 regular season, will take on Mike Sullivan's two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Game 1 at PPG Paints Arena in on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSNP.
The Penguins won the regular season series, with two overtime wins in Pittsburgh and two regulation victories in Philadelphia.
On Nov. 27 in Pittsburgh, the Flyers settled for one point from a very frustrating 5-4 overtime loss. The Flyers took a two-goal lead into the third period only to see it rapidly disappear. Philly scored a key late-regulation goal (a go-ahead goal by Michael Raffl on a great individual effort) but still couldn't find a way to nail down a win.
On Jan. 2 in Philadelphia, the Penguins dealt the Flyers a 5-1 loss. A four-goal explosion by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the latter half of the second period, including three unanswered goals in the span of 2:17, turned an eminently winnable hockey game for the Flyers into an insurmountable mountain to climb. The Penguins went on to turn the game into a blowout after Philly had actually controlled most of the first 30 minutes of play.
With a share or sole possession of first place in the Metropolitan Division at stake, the Penguins sent the Flyers down to a 5-2 defeat at the Wells Fargo Center on March 7. The Flyers held a 2-1 lead midway through the second period but paid dearly for a couple of breakdowns. Philly did not offer much resistance in the third period.
On March 25 in Pittsburgh, the teams played a seesaw affair. On the brink of a regulation loss, the Flyers rallied late to force overtime on a Sean Couturier rebound goal. Philly outshot the Penguins by a 45-32 margin, and got a career-best three-point game from Jordan Weal. However, Brian Rust won the game in OT for the Penguins.
For previews of the series from a variety of standpoints, please see my article series on PhiladelphiaFlyers.com:
Additionally, you may want to check out the latest edition of Broadcasters' Roundtable on Flyers Radio 24/7. Tim Saunders, Jim Jackson, Steve Coates and I wrapped up the regular season and previewed the upcoming series in a 20-minute podcast. On Friday, there will be a new FlyerBuzz in which Brian Smith and I discuss Game One of the series, preview the adjustments for Game 2, discuss the AHL Atlantic Division champion Phantoms' Calder Cup playoff outlook and update Flyers prospects in the CHL playoffs.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers know they are the underdogs entering this series, which is something that can work their benefit as they try to obtain at least a split of the first two games in Pittsburgh. The team went 42-26-14 overall this season, including a 7-1-3 mark over the final 11 games. Philly was much improved on the road this season (20-13-8, 48 points) even as the team's home record (22-13-6, 50 points) fell off a bit from the 53-, 54-, and 55-point marks it reached on home ice in the three previous seasons.
Several late-season lineup changes employed by Hakstol appear likely to carry over into Game 1 of the Pittsburgh series. These include:
* Michael Raffl on the top line right wing spot at 5-on-5. * Travis Konecny on the third line left wing spot. * Nolan Patrick as the net-front forward on the top power play unit. * Wayne Simmonds net-front on the second power play unit. * A two-defenseman look to PP2, with Travis Sanheim joining Ivan Provorov. * Scott Laughton on left wing (rather than center) on the fourth line. * Jori Lehterठat center (rather than wing) on the fourth line. * Robert Hà¤gg and Jordan Weal as healthy scratches.
Brian Elliott will get the start in goal in game one. He played in each of the final two games of the regular season after missing 25 games due to core muscle surgery on Feb. 11.
Over the course of the regular season, the Flyers were frequently slow starters. The team got outscored 61-69 over 82 first periods and held a lead at the first intermission just 18 times (12-1-5 record). The Flyers outscored opponents 96-87 in second periods and led at the second intermission 35 times (29-1-5). In third periods, the Flyers outscored opponents by an 83-73 margin.
Philly was 9-7 in games decided in OT, and 2-7 in shootouts (42-82 for franchise history). Of course, in the playoffs, the five-minute 3-on-3 overtime and skills competition go away in favor of traditional 5-on-5 sudden death OT played over full 20-minute periods until there is a winner.
At 5-on-5, the Flyers outscored opponents 157-145. At 4-on-4, the Flyers were outscored by 6-3. At 6-on-5 (delayed penalties or goaltender pulled), the Flyers scored 10 times while yielding eight empty netters. At 5-on-6, the The Flyers were scored on eight times and scored 15.
The Flyers power play finished the season ranked 15th in the NHL at 20.7 percent efficiency (54-for-261). Philadelphia yielded 10 shorthanded goals this season (T-28th).
Philly's penalty kill struggled for the much of the season. They finished ranked 29th at 75.8 percent success (opponents went 54-for-223). However, the Flyers were also the third least-penalized team in the NHL this season from a times shorthanded perspective. The Flyers scored three shorthanded goals this season: one apiece for Scott Laughton, Wayne Simmonds and Jori Lehterà¤.
Head-to-head against Pittsburgh this season, the Flyers struggled on both ends of special teams. They went 2-for-16 on the power play and just 8-for-13 on the penalty kill.
Excluding the lockout-shortened 1994-95 and 2012-13 seasons (48 games), the Flyers finished the 2017-18 season within having a single player reach 100 penalty minutes for the season for the first time since 1970-71 when Gary Dornhoefer's 93 PIM led the club. For the current team, Radko Gudas topped the squad with 83 PIM in 70 games played.
PENGUINS OUTLOOK
The Penguins closed out the season by going 6-3-1 over their final 10 games. For the season overall, Pittsburgh posted a stellar home record (30-9-2, 62 points) but a mediocre road mark (17-20-4, 38 points) despite winning both road games in Philly by multi-goal margins.
The Pens' number one lifeline this season was its fearsome power play. Pittsburgh led the NHL with a stellar 26.2 success rate (68-for-260) and yielded just three shorthanded goals. The array of weapons the Penguins can throw at an opponent on the power play -- especially a top unit that boasts Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Phil Kessel, Patric Hörnqvist (netfront) and Kris Letang -- is devastating.
On the flip side, the Penguins had a lot of issues at 5-on-5, especially early in the season when the club was positively hemorrhaging opposing goals. That improved somewhat as the season went along (dead last in 5-on-5 goals against about a quarter of the way through the season, the Pens finished a still-disappointing 27th). However, what truly picked up was the number of 5-on-5 goals Pittsburgh scored. Severely underwater in that category at one juncture, the Penguins would up 12th in 5-on-5 goals scored and cut their final deficit to 161 goals scored to 176 yielded.
Matt Murray had an uneven season in goal, and his number reflect the team's own home vs. road issues against much of the NHL. On the road, Murray scuffled to a 10-11-1 record, 3.05 GAA and .896 save percentage. He was much better on home ice (17-5-2, 2.80 GAA, one shutout, .915 save percentage).
Near the trade deadline, the Penguins filled a void left by the free agency departure of Nick Bonino by acquiring Derick Brassard to center the third line. Although Brassard only played 14 games for Pittsburgh due to injury, he is ready to go for the playoffs.
As with the Flyers, Pittsburgh is perhaps a bit top-heavy on their blueline. An X-factor for the team on the blueline is Jamie Oleksiak. After confounding three different head coach in Dallas and playing his way out of the lineup and the team's long-term plans, he generally played well for the Penguins and particularly well against the Flyers. Nevertheless, the book on Oleksiak remains one of being gaffe-prone under pressure. The Penguins will try to bring similar pressure on Flyers rookie Sanheim and the third defensive pair of Brandon Manning and Radko Gudas.
With the Penguins having the last line change in Games 1 and 2, it is likely that Sullivan will be comfortable with the Sidney Crosby line going head-to-head either against the two-thirds rookie line with Patrick and Oskar Lindblom or against the Valtteri Filppula line (which Crosby's line dominated the last time the teams played in Philly).
The Flyers would probably prefer to get the Couturier line out against Malkin's line and the Patrick line out against the Brassard line but that would again leave the Filppula line (albeit bolstered offensively with Konecny) and Lehterठline to deal with Crosby. The Pens may also simply opt to go head-to-head with Crosby's line against Couturier's, because Couturier has seemed to fare better against Malkin over the years.
Any way you slice it, the Penguins have the matchup-array edge up front with greater potential for mismatches. The Flyers will need the third line to step up in a big way, get strong play from the Patrick line and, of course, have the top line lead the way in order to offset the Penguins array of weapons.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change, will be updated)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 12 Michael Raffl 54 Oskar Lindblom - 19 Nolan Patrick - 93 Jakub Voracek 11 Travis Konecny - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 17 Wayne Simmonds 21 Scott Laughton - 15 Jori Lehterठ- 24 Matt Read
9 Ivan Provorov - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere 47 Andrew MacDonald - 6 Travis Sanheim 23 Brandon Manning - 3 Radko Gudas
37 Brian Elliott [34 Petr Mrazek]
Scratches: 20 Taylor Leier (healthy), 22 Dale Weise (healthy), 8 Robert Hà¤gg (healthy), 29 Johnny Oduya (healthy), 40 Jordan Weal (healthy), 30 Michal Neuvirth (lower body).
PENGUINS
59 Jake Guentzel - 87 Sidney Crosby - 17 Bryan Rust 62 Carl Hagelin - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 72 Patric Hornqvist 43 Conor Sheary - 19 Derick Brassard - 81 Phil Kessel 34 Tom Kuhnhackl - 15 Riley Sheahan - 46 Zach Aston-Reese
8 Brian Dumolin - 58 Kris Letang 3 Olli Mà¤à¤ttठ- 4 Justin Schultz 2 Chad Ruhwedel - 6 Jamie Oleksiak
30 Matt Murray [1 Casey DeSmith]
Scratches: 22 Matt Hunwick (healthy), 12 Dominik Simon (healthy), 16 Josh Jooris (healthy), 37 Carter Rowney (day-to-day, upper body).