Flyers looking for much better effort this time around in Columbus

Philadelphia Flyers hockey has been fun mostly because of Carter Hart’s heroics and opportunistic scoring.

While the Flyers were never a top half team in goals for, they did start the season with a middle-of-the-pack power play, which kept them much closer to their opponents. However, the tides are beginning to turn, and a lot of the PDO this team was riding is coming down fast in their recent three-game stretch. Over their three-game losing streak, they’ve allowed 14 goals (4.66 goals per game), while only scoring 4 goals (1.3 goals per game) over that stretch.

Their first loss against Columbus, they did kill both penalties, and actually didn’t even get a single power play themselves. This game was more about the team coming out extremely flat footed and not confident. Hart would probably like to stop a few extra goals, but this was a team loss. Saturday is where we begin to see their losses accrue from poor special teams. The Flyers went scoreless on three power plays, and the Senators cashed in on 2 of 3 power plays. It’s simply unacceptable. Then on Sunday against Dallas, they squandered 6 (six!!!) power plays, including a full minute of 5v3 time, while Dallas was able to finish on 2/3 of their power play opportunities and even scored once while shorthanded.

There’s no question the team is beginning to really struggle across the board, and they return to Columbus for a well needed rematch to show John Tortorella’s former club how much this team has to give. The Blue Jackets snapped their five-game losing streak to Philadelphia earlier last week and return home after losing to the Islanders in overtime by a 4-3 score on Saturday. Despite being severely outshot (46-29 NYI), they did win the special teams battle (killed 2 of NYI’s powerplays, scored on 1/2 powerplays given).

Because things can’t change over night, the Flyers are going to want to keep themselves out of the box and make an impression earlier on, instead of caving inward like their last matchup.

PHI Record: 7-6-2, 16 pts, 5th in Metropolitan

CBJ Record: 4-9-1, 9 pts, 8th in Metropolitan

Last Game PHI: 11/13/22, 5-1 L vs Dallas

Last Game CBJ: 11/12/22, 4-3 OTL at NY Islanders

#13 Johnny Gaudreau – #38 Boone Jenner – #52 Emil Bemström

#59 Yegor Chinakhov – #34 Cole Sillinger – #14 Gustav Nyquist

#19 Liam Foudy – #16 Brendan Gaunce – #91 Kent Johnson

#50 Eric Robinson – #7 Sean Kuraly – #24 Mathieu Olivier

#4 Vladislav Gavrikov – #2 Andrew Peeke

#22 Jake Bean – #47 Marcus Björk

#23 Jake Christiansen – #44 Erik Gudbranson

#90 Elvis Merzļikins

#70 Joonas Korpisalo

PHI Injuries: Cam Atkinson (upper-body), Sean Couturier (back), Bobby Brink (hip), Ryan Ellis (hip), James van Riemsdyk (finger), Wade Allison (lower-body), Wade Allison (hip)

Scratched: Egor Zamula

CBJ Injuries: Jakub Voracek (upper-body), Nick Blankenburg (ankle), Adam Boqvist (foot), Zach Werenski (shoulder), Justin Danforth (shoulder), Patrik Laine (ankle)

Scratched: Jack Roslovic, Gavin Bayreuther

News and Notes

– The Flyers recalled Max Willman after placing Wade Allison on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury sustained on Saturday against the Senators.

– Owen Tippett is a player to watch, playing with tons of confidence and was part of the great passing-sequence that was the Flyers lone goal against Dallas.

TRAVIS KONECNY SCORES!!! #Flyers within one goal. pic.twitter.com/q1KzN46Amz

— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) November 13, 2022

– Tanner Laczynski and Patrick Brown were sent down to the Lehigh Phantoms. Brown is there on a conditioning stint.

– Artem Anisimov also joined the Phantoms on a PTO agreement.

– Ohio is the worst, don’t choose to live here.

Broadcast Info: TV – ESPN+, Hulu, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic