It feels like forever since the last Flyers game, but after a 10 day break, the Flyers are back! The good ol’ orange and black will take on the new kids on the block, the Seattle Kraken, with puck drop scheduled for 10:00pm ET. We’ve got Flyers after dark baby!
Since we’ve last seen the Flyers, there’s been some players going in and out of COVID protocol. Ahead of their matchup with the Kraken, the Flyers have Kevin Hayes, Morgan Frost and Max Willman all returning from COVID protocol. However, the pendulum has swung the other way for Carter Hart, Sean Couturier, Scott Laughton, Derick Brassard, and Ryan Ellis (yes he still exists), as they were all placed in COVID protocol on Sunday.
The Kraken are also missing some players due to the protocol including Vince Dunn, Ryan Donato, and Mason Appleton, but also Brandon Tanev due to a season-ending ACL injury. Adam Larsson exited protocol and was at morning skate today for Seattle.
The Flyers have made some recalls from Lehigh Valley to fill the roster holes with Gerry Mayhew making his Flyers debut this season, Felix Sandström backing up Martin Jones, and finally adding Cam York and Krill Ustimenko to the Taxi Squad.
KEYS TO SUCCESS:
Keep it simple. It’s been almost 2 weeks since the Flyers have laced up the skates for a game. There will certainly be some sloppy plays early in the game but the best thing is to try to play simple hockey. Focus on making clean passes, working together, and not overthinking plays. Sometimes it looks like they were trying to make one too many passes or set up that “perfect” play. A recipe for success is to generate as many chances as possible and by keeping it simple they will do just that.
Shots, shots, shots. The Flyers are currently averaging 31.5 shots per game but only 2.66 goals per game. Part of keeping it simple is shooting from everywhere, trusting in that “shoot first” mentality that has been shown by Atkinson this season. Phillip Grubauer has been less than great in net for the Kraken this season with 3.29 GAA and .882 SV%. If the Flyers pepper him with shots and continue to test him, goals are bound to be scored.
Make a statement. The Flyers have already pummeled the Kraken once this season by a score of 6-1. They need to go out and have a similar performance to assert themselves after this COVID/Holiday break. Losing to a last place (in the Pacific divison) Seattle team, with Hakstol as their coach, for their first game back would set us back and certainly not get the ball rolling for a playoff push. This is a game where the Flyers need to go out, start hard and maintain pressure throughout the game and prove themselves to be a full 60-minute team that nobody wants to play against.
Overall, I’m expecting a sloppy first period with both teams beginning to settle in and the game opening up in the second period. Regardless of how it happens, the Flyers need to come out of this one with a win to start the momentum after the long layoff. Who would’ve thought that I’d be so excited to be back to stressing over this silly hockey team?
PHI Record: 12-12-5, 29 pts, 6th in Metropolitan
SEA Record: 10-17-3, 23 pts, 8th in Pacific
When: 10:00pm ET
Where: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, WA
PHI Goalie: Martin Jones (5-4-1, 3.33 GAA, .918 SV%)
SEA Goalie: Philipp Grubauer (7-12-3, 3.29 GAA, .882 SV%)
PHI Projected Lineup
86 Joel Farabee – 13 Kevin Hayes – 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom – 28 Claude Giroux – 89 Cam Atkinson
25 James van Riemsdyk – 48 Morgan Frost – 20 Gerry Mayhew
71 Max Willman – 38 Patrick Brown – 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov – 61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim – 70 Rasmus Ristolainen
3 Keith Yandle – 8 Kevin Connauton
35 Martin Jones
32 Felix Sandström
SEA Projected Lineup
17 Jaden Schwartz – 16 Jared McCann – 7 Jordan Eberle
19 Calle Järnkrok – 37 Yanni Gourde – 43 Colin Blackwell
90 Marcus Johansson – 21 Alex Wennberg – 72 Joonas Donskoi
71 Max McCormick – 15 Riley Sheahan – 67 Morgan Geekie
24 Jamie Oleksiak – 5 Mark Gioardano
55 Jeremy Lauzon – 28 Carson Soucy
4 Haydn Fleury – 3 Will Borgen
31 Philipp Grubauer
60 Chris Driedger
Last Game PHI: 12/18/21, 4-3 Win vs Ottawa
Last Game SEA: 12/18/21, 5-3 Loss vs Edmonton
News and Notes
– Claude Giroux remains tied for second with Bill Barber on the franchise’s all-time scoring list with 883 points and needs just one more point for sole possession. He is also one assist away from 600 total assists in his career.
– This is Philadelphia’s first visit to Seattle in franchise history. The Kraken visited the Flyers earlier in the season on October 18th in a 6-1 Flyers victory.
– Kevin Hayes and Morgan Frost both cleared COVID protocols yesterday and will be in the lineup tonight. Max Willman also cleared on Monday and will play. Sean Couturier, Carter Hart, Scott Laughton, Ryan Ellis and Derick Brassard remain on the list.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
Injuries
PHI: Ryan Ellis (lower-body, COVID protocols), Derick Brassard (hip, COVID protocols), Sean Couturier (COVID protocols), Carter Hart (COVID protocols), Scott Laughton (COVID protocols)
SEA: Brandon Tanev (torn ACL), Vince Dunn (COVID protocols), Ryan Donato (COVID protocols), Mason Appleton (COVID protocols)
