QUICK HITS: JANUARY 3, 2017
1) The Philadelphia Flyers returned to practice at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ, on Tuesday in preparation for a nationally televised NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game against the New York Rangers at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers featured the same lines and defense pairs as in Sunday's game in Anaheim:
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek 11 Travis Konecny - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds 24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 22 Dale Weise 76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 P-E Bellemare - 13 Roman Lyubimov
9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald 15 Michael Del Zotto- 3 Radko Gudas 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 23 Brandon Manning
35 Steve Mason 41 Anthony Stolarz / 30 Michal Neuvirth
Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol said after practice that he felt the team does not need to change anything from the Anaheim game. He and several players opined that the team dominated most of the game (as suggested by the 55-25 shot totals in their favor) despite the ultimate 4-3 outcome via shootout in the Ducks' favor.
Regardless of the team's 1-4-2 record over the last seven games, the mood in the locker room in Voorhees was generally upbeat. Matt Read, who returned to the lineup on Sunday after being activated from injured reserve, said that once negativity creeps into a team's game and mindset, especially after a long winning streak, it can be tough to drum it out. To a man, the Flyers felt that the Anaheim game was an important step in the right direction, and the game just as easily could have produced two points instead of one.
Hakstol dismissed the notion that the Flyers answered any concerns about handling playing against teams with big, heavy lineups. The Flyers coach said that he and the team were never concerned in the first place about dealing with burlier lineups and have already shown they can play successfully against any opponent.
"Things get tighter this time of year," Hakstol noted, and said that he could see the team's energy level increase somewhat in the San Jose game and significantly in the Ducks game.
Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds said that he felt the team had misplaced some of its aggressive after the 10-game winning streak and needed "more snarl," which undoubtedly factored into why the right winger engaged Kevin Bieksa in the now much-replayed fight in which Simmonds lost every part of his jersey and undershirt except the tie-down strap that was designed to keep the jersey from coming off in a fight.
2) Goaltender Michal Neuvirth participated in the entire practice. Afterwards, he said he felt ready to play and is just waiting for medical clearance. Anthony Stolarz remains with the team, and also participated in practice, sharing the net nearest the zamboni gate. Steve Mason will make his 21st start in the last 23 games when the Flyers take on the Rangers on Wednesday.
Hakstol said he planned to sit down and talk with Neuvirth later in the day. The coach pointed out that Tuesday was Neuvirth's first full-length practice after missing 22 games and that, with Neuvirth and Stolarz splitting reps, the workload for Neuvirth was still a little less than normal.
A little after 1 p.m., the Flyers announced that Neuvirth has been activated from IR, Stolarz has been reassigned to the Phantoms. The Flyers will hold an 11 a.m. morning skate at the Skate Zone (rather than the Wells Fargo Center) on Wednesday.
3) Flyers defenseman Mark Streit practiced in full on Tuesday, paired with Nick Schultz (a healthy scratch on Wednesday). Rehabbing an upper-body (suspected shoulder) injury, Streit said that he hasn't had any setbacks, feels better and better daily and is close to being ready to return but will not be ready by Wednesday.
4) The World Junior Championships semifinals are set for Wednesday with Team USA (featuring Flyers prospect Tanner Laczynski) taking on Russia (Mikhail Vorobyov, German Rubtsov) at 3:00 p.m. ET and Canada (Carter Hart, sidelined defenseman Philippe Myers) opposing Sweden (Felix Sandström, David Bernhardt) at 7:30 p.m. ET.
On Tuesday, Vorobyov compiled his seventh and eight assists of the tournament in Russia's 4-0 win over Denmark in the quarterfinals. Early in the second period, Rubtsov was cut by a high stick by Jeppe Korsgà¥rd, drawing a four-minute power play for the Russians. Rubtsov, who played 3:57 over eight shifts, did not return to the game. Vorobyov skated 18:56 and registered two shots on goal in addition to his two assists.
Sweden earned an 8-3 win (and 50-18 shot advantage) over Slovakia. These sorts of games can be tougher on goalies than ones where they see a lot of shots, and Sandström yielded a pair of closely spaced goals late in the second period after the Swedes built a 5-0 lead. Bernhardt was minus-one in 14:02 of ice time.
Laczynski skated 12:04 and had one shot on goal in USA's rather tedious 3-2 win over Switzerland. The game was played more to the liking of the Swiss side, with limited shots (21-17 edge for Switzerland, including a 7-2 margin in the second period) but the Americans found a way to win on a third period goal by Jordan Greenway just 18 seconds after the Swiss tied the game at 2-2. The Americans took a 2-0 lead to the first intermission only to see the dogged opponent come back to tie the score.
In the final game of the WJC career, David Kase gave Team Czech Republic an early lead against Canada on Tuesday (his second goal and third point in the last two matches). However, the Canadians eventually went on to win, 5-3, after trailing at the first intermission. Carter Hart was relegated to backup duty to Connor Ingram for this game. Hart may get the nod to oppose Sandström and the Swedes in the semis. Ingram has a .867 save percentage in the tourney.
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FLYERS ALUMNI WEEKEND
A very limited number of single-seat tickets remain for the Flyers Alumni vs Penguins Alumni 50th Anniversary Game at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday Jan. 14. Tickets are also selling rapidly for the Golden Anniversary Reception at the SugarHouse Casino on Jan. 13.
Due to the strong level of fan interest in the 50th Anniversary Game, the match will now be televised. Bill Clement will handle the broadcasting duties. Earlier in the day, the Flyers have an afternoon game in Boston.