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Flyers Gameday: 10/27/21 @ EDM; Phantoms Gameday, HOF Game, Quick Hits

October 27, 2021, 9:14 AM ET [441 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Game 5 Preview: Flyers @ Oilers

After opening the season with a four-game homestand, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (2-1-1) begin a three-games-in-four-nights road trip through western Canada on Wednesday when they play Dave Tippett's undefeated Edmonton Oilers (5-0-0) in a nationally televised game. Game time at Rogers Arena is 10:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised nationally on TNT.

This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-conference teams. The teams will rematch at the Wells Fargo Center on March 1, 2022. Due to the pandemic-driven shortening of the 2019-20 schedule and the all-divisional 2020-21 schedule, Wednesday's game in Edmonton marks the first time the Flyers have played the Oilers in slightly more than two calendar years. The teams last played on Oct. 16, 2019, when the Oilers prevailed at home, 6-3.

For an in-depth five-point preview of tonight's game, see "Five Things" on the Flyers' official website.

Projected lineups:

FLYERS

28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 19 Derick Brassard - 89 Cam Atkinson
23 Oskar Lindblom - 21 Scott Laughton - 25 James van Riemsdyk
62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel - 44 Nate Thompson - 17 Zack MacEwen

9 Ivan Provorov - 61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim - 70 Rasmus Ristolainen
3 Keith Yandle - 24 Nick Seeler

79 Carter Hart
[35 Martin Jones]

OILERS

18 Zach Hyman - 97 Connor McDavid - 13 Jesse Puljujärvi
93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 29 Leon Draisaitl - 56 Kailer Yamamoto
37 Warren Foegele - 10 Derek Ryan - 44 Zack Kassian
42 Brendan Perlini - 14 Devin Shore - 8 Kyle Turris

25 Darnell Nurse - 75 Evan Bouchard
2 Duncan Keith - 5 Cody Ceci
20 Slater Koekkoek - 22 Tyson Barrie

19 Mikko Koskinen
[74 Stuart Skinner]

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Preview: Phantoms @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

Looking to get their struggling offense going and not have to over-rely on their goaltenders to such a high degree, Ian Laperriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms (0-3-1) are on the road on Wednesday to play J.D. Forrest's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (3-1-0). Game time at Mohegan Sun Arena is 7:05 p.m. ET. The game will be streamed on AHLTV.

This game is already the third meeting of the young season between the Atlantic Division rivals. On opening night in Wilkes-Barre, the Pens prevailed, 2-1.

WB/S dominated the first period with a 14-6 shot advantage and multiple prime scoring chances but Felix Sandström (21 saves on 23 shots overall) limited the damage to one goal. The rest of the game was pretty evenly played. Filip Lindberg made several clutch saves along the way.

A power play goal off the rush by the Phantoms' Tyson Foerster, set up nicely by rookie defenseman Cam York, tied the score at 1-1 late in the second period. Unfortunately, Pens defenseman Niclas Almari restored the lead for WB/S early in the second period and WB/S rope the one-goal edge the rest of the way. The Phantoms went 1-for-5 on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill.

Three days ago, the Phantoms and Pens had a rematch at the PPL Center in Allentown. Lehigh Valley was coming off a terrible outing against the Hartford Wolfpack on Saturday that saw the Phantoms get outplayed in all three periods (and rack up a 41-22 shot on goal edge overall) and needed an outstanding outing in net from Sandström in what nevertheless turned into a 3-1 loss after a failed 6-on-4 power play for the Phantoms and an empty-netter for Hartford.

Things don't go much better against the Pens. The Phantoms were badly outplayed in the opening 40 minutes of the game. This time, it was rookie goalie Samuel Ersson (28 saves) that kept the Phantoms in the game, trailing just 1-0 after two periods. Lehigh Valley finally started to apply some sustained pressure in the third period but continued to struggle to finish scoring chances on the power play (0-for-6 including a horrific 0-for-4 in getting outshot 13-8 overall in an awful second period).

Finally, with Ersson pulled for an extra attacker, Max Willman knocked home a rebound at 6-on-5 to force overtime. After a disorganized opening shift at 3-on-3 saw Morgan Frost take his line off-side, the Penguins scored on the extra frame's second shift to win the game, 2-1, at the 57-second mark. Pens defenseman Valtteri Puustinen, who accounted for both WB/S goals in the game, fired home a shot from inside the center-point area to end the game.

Through four games, the Phantoms are still looking for their first 5-on-5 goal of the season. They've scored once on the power play (Foerster's goal in Wilkes-Barre in the opener), twice in late-game 6-on-5 desperation bids (Gerry Mayhew vs. Hershey and Willman vs. WB/S on Sunday) and once shorthanded (a Willman breakaway goal sprung by Frost).

Things are bound to get better for the Phantoms. However, the team will need to play much better all-around than they have either in the preseason or the regular season to date if it is to start scoring goals and winning games. If for nothing else right now but for building some cohesion and confidence, the team could really use a turnaround effort in Wilkes Barre before a road game in Utica on Friday against the undefeated Comets and a home game against Syracuse (1-2-1) at the PPL Center on Saturday.

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Flyers Alumni Hall of Fame Game Roster Announced

Yesterday, the Flyers and the Flyers Alumni Association officially announced the preliminary roster for the Flyers Alumni Hall of Fame Game on Nov. 15 at the Wells Fargo Center.

Note: The roster is not yet fully complete. A list of confirmed participants was prepared ahead of the announcement. There are likely to be some other additions. On Monday, for example, Flyers Alumni Association president Brad Marsh confirmed the participation of goaltender Mike McKenna, which McKenna himself also tweeted.

Later this week, the Flyers will release the list of confirmed off-ice participants in the event (coaches, non-playing Alumni attendees, etc.).

This was the confirmed list player heading into this week:

Danny Briere: 2007-2013
Donald Brashear: 2001-2006
Dave Brown: 1983-1989, 1991-1995
Lindsay Carson: 1981-1983, 1984-1988
Riley Cote: 2006-2010
Murray Craven: 1984-1992
Robert Esche: 2002-2007
Pelle Eklund: 1985-1994
Todd Fedoruk: 2000-2004, 2006-2007
Simon Gagne: 1999-2010, 2012-2013
Mark Howe: 1982-1992
Adam Hall: 2012-2014
Scott Hartnell: 2007-2014
Paul Holmgren: 1975-1984
Mike Knuble: 2005-2009, 2012-2013
Mitch Lamoureux: 1987-1988
Reggie Leach: 1974-1982
John LeClair: 1995-2004
Eric Lindros: 1992-2000
Neil Little: 2001-2002, 2003-2004
Joffrey Lupul: 2007-2009
Brad Marsh: 1981-1988
Scott Mellanby: 1986-1991
Brian Propp: 1979-1990
Kjell Samuelsson: 1986-1992, 1995-1997
Nick Schultz: 2014-2017
Ron Sutter: 1982-1991
Chris Therien: 1994-2004, 2005-2006
Rick Tocchet: 1984-1992, 1999-2002
Scottie Upshall: 2006-2009
Joe Watson: 1967-1978

We'll have much more on the Hall of Fame game and surrounding events in the two-plus weeks to come leading up to the game.

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Quick Hits: Oct. 27, 2021

1) Flyers 2020 sixth-round pick Connor McClennon chipped in an empty-net goal late in the Winnipeg Ice's 3-1 road win over the Red Deer Rebels on Tuesday to nail down a 3-1 win. For the season to date, McClennon has nine goals and 14 points in 10 games played. The Ice are off to a perfect 10-0-0 start with 61 goals scored against 18 goals against.

2) Flyers 2020 fifth-round Elliot Desnoyers, who had an excellent Rookie Camp and NHL training camp and is under entry-level contract to the Flyers, is off to a torrid start in the QMJHL for the Halifax Mooseheads. The crafty and highly competitive two-way forward already has a pair of five-point games this season to his credit including a hat trick and two assists in a 6-3 home win over Cape Breton on Saturday (highlights and stats here). For the young season to date, Desnoyers has six goals and 13 points in six games played.

3) Current Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen celebrates his 27th birthday today. He shares a birthday with Flyers Alumni Mike Ricci (who celebrates his 50th birthday day) and hard-shooting defenseman Corey Foster (born in 1969).

4) Flyers Daily: Jason Myrtetus previews tonight's game in Edmonton during the first segment. He also talks to Brad Marsh about the upcoming USA Hockey Warrior Classic and Flyers Alumni Hall of Fame Game. To listen, click here.

5) Wishes for a speedy recovery go out to legendary Hall of Fame goaltender Bernie Parent, who underwent back surgery today. This is a follow-up to previous treatments. Parent suffered extensive injuries to his back in a Sept. 2018 car accident.



6) Today in Flyers History: October 27, 2005

The Philadelphia Flyers enjoyed the best record in the NHL during the first half of the 2005-06 season, although things did not go nearly as well after mid-January. Early in the season, the Flyers found many different ways to win.

On October 27, 2005, the team found itself in comeback mode throughout the night in a home game against the Florida Panthers. The Flyers found themselves trailing 3-1 in the second period and 4-2 in the third. Each time, they pushed back.

With just 50 seconds left in regulation, Peter Forsberg scored his first goal as a Flyer and forced overtime. Earlier, Forsberg assisted on a pair of Simon Gagne tallies. Capping the comeback, defenseman Joni Pitkanen scored the game-winner in overtime. For a video retrospective on the game, click here.
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