Game 37 Preview: FLYERS @ PANTHERS
Interim head coach Scott Gordon's Philadelphia Flyers (15-16-5) are in the Sunshine State on Thursday to play Bob Boughner's Florida Panthers (15-15-6) on Saturday night. Game time at the BB&T Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised nationally on NBCSP. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at
FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the third and final meeting this season between the teams, and the only game in Florida. The Flyers are 1-1-0 against the Panthers this season.
On Oct. 16 at the Wells Fargo Center, a five-goal second period and two shootout goals in three rounds proved to be just enough for the Flyers to salvage a 6-5 win. The win came despite getting off to a poor first-period start and later squandering a 5-2 lead. In the Nov. 13 rematch in Philadelphia, a third period by the Flyers fell a little short in a 2-1 regulation loss.
Flyers Outlook
Saturday's game is the second of the four-game southern portion of Philly's five-game road trip on either side of the NHL's Christmas break. On Thursday in Tampa Bay, the Flyers rallied back from a 5-2 deficit in the third period to force overtime before going down to a 6-5 defeat.
Against Tampa, the Flyers got goals from Michael Raffl (2nd), Claude Giroux (13th goal, 31st assist), Dale Weise (5th), Robert Hägg (4th) and Ivan Provorov (4th). James van Riemsdyk had two assists (7th and 8th assists) while Scott Laughton (6th assist), Travis Sanheim (9th assist), Andrew MacDonald (5th assist), Radko Gudas (8th assist), and Sean Couturier (14th assist) chipped in one helper apiece.
Michal Neuvirth got the start in goal. He stopped 31 of 37 shots in a losing cause. Twenty-year-old rookie Carter Hart will get the start against the Panthers. Hart will make his fourth career NHL start.
Nolan Patrick will be out of the lineup on Saturday with an upper-body injury sustained in Thursday's game. He's expected to miss the remainder of the road trip but could return to the lineup when the Flyers return home on Jan. 3.
At the Flyers'
practice in Sunrise on Friday, much of the emphasis was placed in tightening up defensive zone coverages. In Patrick's absence, line combinations were somewhat changed. Jordan Weal will return to the lineup, centering the third line. Oskar Lindblom moved up to the third line. Scott Laughton and Dale Weise flanked Phil Varone on the fourth line.
Through 36 games, team captain Giroux leads the team with 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists). He is followed by Jakub Voracek (nine goals, 20 assists, 29 points), Couturier (14 goals, 14 assists, 28 points in 34 games), Travis Konecny (nine goals, 12 assists, 21 points), Simmonds (11 goals, five assists, 16 points) and Shayne Gostisbehere (four goals, 11 assists, 15 points, -16). Provorov has four goals, 12 points and is minus-eight.
Entering Saturday's game, the Flyers have scored an average 2.97 goals per game (15th) but carry a team 3.64 GAA (29th). After going 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill in the Tampa game, the Flyers dropped to dead last (31st) in the NHL on the power play at 13.1 percent (14-for-107, six shorthanded goals allowed) and 28th on the penalty kill at 74.6 percent (opponents are 30-for-118, three shorthanded goals scored). At five-on-five, the Flyers have scored 78 goals but allowed 80 goals.
Panthers Outlook
The Panthers are playing the second half of a Friday/Saturday home back-to-back set. On Friday, the Panthers went down to a 5-3 defeat at the hands of the Montreal Canadiens.
The Panthers got off to a slow start, falling into a quick 2-0 hole within three minutes of the opening faceoff. Florida recovered to get the game tied up before the first intermission on goals by Henrik Borgström (2nd) and Denis Malgin (4th). The game remained knotted at 2-2 until the third period when a power play goal by the Habs put Montreal ahead again. With 4:20 left in the game, Montreal got some much-needed insurance to make it 4-2.
After Montreal got an extra penalty from a fight between Aaron Ekblad and Phillip Danault, Keith Yandle (6th goal of the season) trimmed the deficit to 4-3 with a power play goal with 1:16 left. Montreal iced the win with an empty-net goal in the final 23 seconds.
Roberto Luongo took the loss in goal against Montreal, stopping 23 of 27 shots. For the season, the 39-year-old Luongo dropped to 8-7-1 with a 3.07 GAA and .902 save percentage. The Flyers might face James Reimer (6-7-3, 3.45 GAA, .888 SV%) on Saturday.
Through the first 36 games, Jonathan Huberdeau leads the Panthers with 42 points (nine goals, 33 assists). He is followed by Aleksander Barkov (15 goals, 22 assists, 37 points), Mike Hoffman (17 goals, 18 assists, 35 points), Evgenii Dadonov (17 goals, 17 assists, 34 assists) and Yandle (32 points). Frank Vatrano (10 goals, 15 points) rounds out the top six.
The Panthers have been an offensively potent but defensively suspect team this season, scoring an average 3.25 goals per game (9th) but carrying a team 3.53 GAA (28th). The power play comes in ranked 2nd in the NHL at 28.4 percent (38-for-134, seven shorthanded goals allowed). The penalty kill enters at 77.5 percent (25-for-111, ranked 23rd). At five-on-five, the Panthers have scored 66 goals and allowed 84 (third most in the NHL).
Projected Lines (Subject to change)
FLYERS
25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny
17 Wayne Simmonds - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
21 Scott Laughton - 40 Jordan Weal - 12 Michael Raffl
23 Oskar Lindblom - 44 Phil Varone - 22 Dale Weise
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 8 Robert Hägg
47 Andrew MacDonald - 3 Radko Gudas
79 Carter Hart
[30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: 15 Jori Lehterä (healthy), 19 Nolan Patrick (upper body), 26 Christian Folin (healthy), 41 Anthony Stolarz (IR, lower body), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
PANTHERS
11 Jonathan Huberdeau - 16 Aleksander Barkov - 63 Evgeny Dadonov
72 Frank Vatrano - 95 Henrik Borgstrom - 68 Mike Hoffman
22 Troy Brouwer - 90 Jared McCann - 62 Denis Malgin
18 Micheal Haley- 7 Colton Sceviour - 8 Jayce Hawryluk
3 Keith Yandle - 5 Aaron Ekblad
19 Michael Matheson - 52 MacKenzie Weegar
55 Bogdan Kiselevich - 13 Mark Pysyk
34 James Reimer / 1 Roberto Luongo
Scratches: 6 Alex Petrovic (healthy), 91 Juho Lammikko (healthy), 27 Nick Bjugstad (upper body), 17 Derek McKenzie (IR, shoulder surgery), 21 Vincent Trochek (ankle fracture), 88 Jamie McGinn (IR, shoulder surgery).
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Phantoms Skate Past Providence, 3-1
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms took an early lead and never trailed as they earned a 3-1 victory over the visiting Providence Bruins at the PPL Center in Allentown on Friday night. With the win, the Phantoms improved to 19-9-3 overall and 4-0-1 under interim head coach Kerry Huffman.
The Phantoms were outshot in all three periods and 34-20 overall for the game but were backstopped by a 33-save performance by Alex Lyon. Lyon flirted with a shutout. Dan Vladar stopped 17 of 19 shots in a losing cause for the Bruins.
Mark Friedman (2nd), Nicolas Aube-Kubel (9th) and Philippe Myers (shorthanded empty net, 6th) scored for the Phantoms. Myers, T.J. Brennan, Greg Carey and Tyrell Goulbourne chipped in one assist apiece. The lone Providence goal was scored by Joona Koppanen. A brief synopsis of the goals follows:
1-0 Phantoms (6:30 1st period): Friedman worked a give-and-go with Bunnaman. Friedman went to the net, took a return feed from Bunnaman and tapped the puck into the open side of the cage. Myers received a secondary assist.
2-0 Phantoms (3:16 3rd period): Aube-Kubel received a pass from Brennan (22nd assist) and blasted home a one-timer from above the dot to provide some valuable insurance. Carey collected an apple on the play as well.
2-1 Bruins (12:39 3rd period): After an errant rising puck hit Phantoms defenseman Zach Palmquist in the face, the puck bounced directly to Koppanen in point-blank range and he slid the puck home to get Providence back within one goal. Karson Kuhlman and Chris Breen were credited with the assists.
3-1 Phantoms (19:30 3rd period): With the Bruins attacking 6-on-4 on the power play, Myers flipped the puck high down the ice on the clear. He was further rewarded as the puck went into the empty net at the other end. Goulbourne got the lone assist.
The Phantoms went 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play. Lehigh Valley's power play (28-for-136, 20.6 percent) still ranks 3rd in the AHL while the penalty kill tops the league at 88.0 percent (opponents are 15-for-125) with five shorthanded goals (tied for the most in the league).
With 41 points in 31 games played, the Phantoms are in third place in the Atlantic Division. They are still seven points behind the Charlotte Checkers (33 GP) and four behind the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (34 GP). The Phantoms are six points ahead of the Springfield Thunderbirds (31 GP) and Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins (34 GP). The Penguins, who suffered a 5-1 home loss to the Hershey Bears on Friday, pay a visit to the PPL Center on Saturday evening.
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WORLD JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS: DAYS 3 AND 4
Flyers 2018 first-round pick Joel Farabee compiled a natural hat trick in the first period as Team USA built a commanding 4-1 lead in the opening 20 minutes and went to cruise to an 8-2 victory against an overmatched Kazakhstan. The Americans enjoyed a whopping 66-13 shot advantage for the game. Farabee's goals were the 2nd, 3rd and 4th for the American side.
Farabee's first goal came on the power play. After a failed clear by the Kazakhs, the Americans worked the puck around the perimeter. From above the left faceoff dot, Farabee snapped a rising shot through a partial screen into to top corner on the long side. The assists went to Jason Robertson and Quinn Hughes as Team USA took a 2-1 lead at 5:13.
Farabee's second goal was scored off the rush as he set up an initial chance and then followed it up as he went over the middle to claim a loose puck and slide it home on the backhand. Farabee punctuated it by shouldering a Kazakh defenseman out of his way as he skated past the net. The assists went to Robertson and Josh Norris at 8:53.
The hat trick was finished with another five-on-five goal. The sequence started with a Kazakh turnover just inside their defensive blueline. The puck was then sent by Robertson to Farabee, who was still stationed near the slot. Moving in on the goalie, Farabee got the goalie to open the five-hole as he moved laterally and more or less finessed the equivalent of a pass through the legs into the back of the net at 12:05 of the first period.
For the night, Farabee finished with five shots on goal,21 shifts (16:46 TOI) and five shots on goal. He won Player of the Game honors for Team USA. Farabee's regular linemate and projected 1st overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, Jack Hughes, was scratched on Friday with an upper-body injury. Hughes is considered day-to-day.
Playing fourth-line right wing, Jay O'Brien set up a pair of US scoring chances but came away again without a point. He was minus-one across 17 shifts and 10:04 of ice time. He was out for the first Kazakh goal, which tied the score at 1-1 early in the first period, but had nothing to do with the opposing goal sequence.
Flyers defense prospect Jack St. Ivany was out for both Kazakh goals and finished at minus-two across 12 shifts and 8:47 of ice time. The first goal saw a bit of a communication mixup near the blueline, as attacker Andrei Buyalski split the D over the middle and went in to score against goaltender Cayden Primeau (Keith's son). On the latter Kazakh goal, which made it an 8-2 game in the third period, Primeau left out a rebound on a right circle changeup of a shot by Valeri Orekhov and the puck was quickly stashed home by Dmitri Mitenkov. On the brighter side for St. Ivany, he had a pair of shots on goal, including a scoring chance from the left circle that required a nice glove save by the opposing netminder.
Flyers forward prospect Noah Cates had two shots on goal. He was plus-one over 20 shifts and 14:11 of ice time.
Among non-Flyers affiliated players of local interest, Buffalo Sabres prospect Mattias Samuelsson (Kjell's son) was plus-three with two shots on goal over 25 shifts and 19:02 of ice time. His best moment was a crushing and clean body check along the wall just inside the defensive blueline in the third period. Fellow Voorhees native and Flyers Alumni offspring Primeau, a Montreal Canadiens prospect, had 11 saves on 13 shots on goal.
Chicago Blackhawks prospect Evan Barratt, who hails from Bristol, PA, racked up eight shots on goal and was plus-one over 19 shifts (14:46 TOI). The opening night Player of the Game in the USA's 2-1 victory over Slovakia, Barratt did not record a point on Friday.
Things get tougher now for the Americans. On Saturday night (10:30 ET, NHL Network), Team USA plays a marquee game against Team Sweden for what will likely determine first place in their preliminary round pool.
Team Sweden features two Flyers prospects selected in the 2018 NHL Draft: defenseman Adam Ginning and goaltender Samuel Ersson. Ersson received back-to-back starts on Wednesday and Thursday, excelling against Finland and then having a somewhat easier game against Slovakia. Ginning has played third-pairing minutes and seen penalty killing time for the Junior Crowns.
The Swedes bring a streak of 46 straight wins in WJC preliminary round games (41 in regulation, one in OT, four via shootout) into Saturday's game. The streak dates back to Dec. 31, 2006 when the Swedes lost on home ice in Leksand to Team USA. In 34 of the 46 games during the ensuing winning streak, the Junior Crowns have not trailed at any point of the game including each of the first two games of this year's tournament.
After playing Sweden, the Americans wrap up the preliminary round on Monday (10:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network) against Finland. The Swedes play Kazakhstan on Monday (6:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network). Finland plays Slovakia on Saturday, needing to avoid an upset in order to finish no worse than third in the pool.
Team Canada vs. Czech Republic: Morgan Frost and Team Canada (2-0-0) will face off with the Czech Republic (8 p.m. ET, NHL Network) on Saturday night. The Canadians will finish up preliminary round play on Monday with their toughest matchup, playing Russia (8:00 p.m., NHL Network).
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