The Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-4) broke their 3-game losing streak on Tuesday night in Columbus, cruising to a 5-3 win.
And again, the Flyers continue to see themselves back in the playoff mix, sitting one spot outside of the final Wild Card berth due to the tiebreaker going the Lightning’s way.
Tonight, Philadelphia looks to inch closer to a playoff spot and prove that they are not in the “basement” of the league.
Both Detroit and Philadelphia snapped their losing streaks this week. Philadelphia was coming off a 3-game losing streaking featuring the following losses:
7-5 vs. Panthers
4-3 L (OT) at Bruins
3-2 L vs. Utah HC
For Detroit, they ended their 5 game losing streak Monday night in a 6-5 shootout win at the Buffalo Sabres. Detroit succumbed to their losing streak by the following teams:
5-4 L vs. Devils
5-4 L (OT) vs. Canucks
3-2 L (OT) at Bruins
2-1 L at Senators
2-1 L vs. Avalanche
Detroit’s five losses shows a pattern of blown leads, and why a 31st-ranked penalty kill can tank your team’s ability to win games. Too often, the Red Wings would have a 1 or 2-goal lead, and give it away due to an ineffective penalty kill. Despite those short comings, they never quit, and kept each game within reach. Detroit did score on the powerplay in 3 of 5 of their games, and had a perfect penalty kill in 2 of their 5, including their win in Buffalo on Monday night.
It will be interesting to see how this game plays out considering the Flyers have been struggling on the powerplay. The Red Wings have generally kept up with their opponents at 5v5, The Flyers will need to match that energy, and find ways of negating any opportunities Detroit may have tonight on the powerplay.
When: 12/12/24; 7:00pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center; Philadelphia, PA
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia; Flyers Radio 24/7
Last Game PHI: 12/10/24; 5-3 W; at Columbus Blue Jackets
Last Game DET: 12/9/24; 6-5 W (S/O); at Buffalo Sabres
Philadelphia Flyers
Aleksei Kolosov (3-5-1) gets the nod to start in net tonight. Alexei was thrusted into the Florida game after John Tortorella pulled Ivan Fedotov for allowing 2 goals in the first period. Unfortunately, Kolosov struggled as well, and appeared to have given up some weak goals as well. He continued his shakiness in the Boston game, and was relieved last Sunday when the Flyers lost to the Utah Hockey Club in a 4-2 regulation loss. Now, he is poised to return with a chip on his shoulder, and prove he can handle the best hockey league in the world.
Since Jamie Drysdale’s return, he not only looks like a new player, but the player that the front office and fans were hoping they would see when we traded for him for Cutter Gauthier. It appears that the coaching staff have noticed, and promoted him to their top powerplay unit. It is often said that powerplay minutes are seen as a reward for positive 5v5 play. Well, the coaches have been impressed, and feel like Jamie has earned a cookie for each hand.
As for our other shifty puck-mover, Emil Andrae, he will take a sit in the press box tonight after some inconsistent play. Egor Zamula will return in place of Andrae, and you can expect these two to continue to rotate (and battle) for that roster spot for the rest of the season. Zamula will also be tasked with the second power play unit.
Looking at the Flyers on the whole, we look to see them carry over their play in Columbus back to the Wells Fargo Center. Detroit is by far a more competitive team, but still a beatable one. If the Flyers’ penalty kill resumes their reputation, the power play clicks, and they win battles at 5v5, the Flyers should be golden. A lot of this, and get ready, will come down to Kolosov as well. We have seen what bad goaltending can do to a team even when they are scoring (re: Ivan Fedotov’s start this year).
Projected Lineup: Philadelphia Flyers
#86 Joel Farabee – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #39 Matvei Michkov
#71 Tyson Foerster – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#21 Scott Laughton – #25 Ryan Poehling – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#5 Egor Zamula – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#35 Aleksei Kolosov
(#33 Sam Ersson)
Projected Lineup: Detroit Red Wings
#93 Alex DeBrincat – #71 Dylan Larkin – #23 Lucas Raymond
#27 Michael Rasmussen – #92 Marco Kasper – #88 Patrick Kane
#18 Andrew Copp – #37 J.T. Compher – #11 Vladimir Tarasenko
#48 Jonatan Berggren – #14 Tyler Motte – #36 Christian Fischer
#77 Simon Edvinsson– #53 Moritz Seider
#8 Ben Chiarot – #46 Jeff Petry
#56 Erik Gustafsson – #3 Justin Holl
#39 Cam Talbot
(#35 Ville Husso)
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