The Philadelphia Flyers are looking for their first win against their divisional rivals, the Columbus Blue Jackets, as they play them for the 3rd time this season.
The Flyers, who lost their last game 6-3 with Kevin Hayes as a healthy scratch, desperately need a win against the Johnny Hockey sweepstakes winners. In their last two matchups this year, Columbus put up 5 goals in each game with Carter Hart in net. The Flyers battled their way into an overtime in one of those two games but ultimately lost in the extra minutes. The Orange and Black lead the league in OT losses this season with 7.
The Blue Jackets will be without both their starter, Elvis Merzlikins, and their backup, Joonas Korpisalo. Both teams seem to be riddled with injuries. Last year, they 1-for-1 traded Cam Atkinson and Jakub Voracek, now both key players are out for the season. However, returning from injury is Wade Allison. The winger last played November 12th against Ottawa in Claude Giroux’s return to Philadelphia.
While losing for a third time to the Jackets might be great for the Connor Bedard tank, it would be a breath of fresh air to see this team play some solid hockey on home ice and leave with a win.
PHI Record: 10-15-7, 27 pts, 7th in Metropolitan
CBJ Record: 10-19-2, 22 pts, 8th in Metropolitan
Last Game PHI: 12/17/22, 6-3 L vs Rangers
Last Game CBJ: 12/19/22, 2-1 L vs Stars
When: 7:00pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (9-9-6, .913 SV%, 2.82 GAA, 0 SO)
CBJ Goalie: Daniil Tarasov (2-6-1, .915 SV%, 3.03 GAA, 0 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#86 Joel Farabee – #49 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny
#25 James van Riemsdyk – #48 Morgan Frost – #74 Owen Tippett
#13 Kevin Hayes – #21 Scott Laughton – #57 Wade Allison
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #38 Patrick Brown – #17 Zack MacEwen
#9 Ivan Provorov – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#45 Cam York – #61 Justin Braun
#6 Travis Sanheim – #77 Tony DeAngelo
#79 Carter Hart
#32 Felix Sandström
CBJ Projected Lineup
#13 Johnny Gaudreau – #91 Kent Johnson – #29 Patrik Laine
#14 Gustav Nyquist – #96 Jack Roslovic – #86 Kirill Marchenko
#50 Eric Robinson – #7 Sean Kuraly – #19 Liam Foudy
#72 Carson Meyer – #21 Josh Dunne – #24 Mathieu Olivier
#44 Erik Gudbranson – #75 Tim Berni
#47 Marcus Björk – #4 Vladislav Gavrikov
#2 Andrew Peeke – #23 Jake Christiansen
#40 Daniil Tarasov
#73 Jet Greaves
PHI Injuries: Cam Atkinson (neck), Sean Couturier (back), Bobby Brink (hip), Ryan Ellis (hip), Tanner Laczynski (upper-body)
Scratched: Nick Seeler, Max Willman
CBJ Injuries: Adam Boquist (foot), Justin Danforth (shoulder), Zach Werenski (shoulder) Jake Bean (shoulder), Jakub Voráček (concussion), Nick Blankenburg (ankle), Joonas Korpisalo (lower-body), Boone Jenner (thumb), Cole Sillinger (upper-body), Yegor Chinakhov (ankle)
Scratched: Gavin Bayreuther, Elvis Merzļikins
News and Notes:
– Wade Allison returns to the lineup after missing over a month with hip and oblique injuries.
– Cam Atkinson will miss the remainder of the season due to a neck injury that he’ll undergo surgery for on Wednesday.
– The Blue Jackets are the only team currently behind the Flyers in the Metropolitan standings.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
