It’s the first game post-trade deadline and the Philadelphia Flyers will be without Justin Braun and Derick Brassard as the former was traded to the New York Rangers for a 2023 3rd round pick and the latter was moved to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 4th round pick. The Flyers have already played two games without Claude Giroux, one before his trade and one after, with their last game being a win against the New York Islanders, 2-1. Kevin Hayes scored twice, Carter Hart made 26 saves, and Owen Tippett made his Flyers debut. The Flyers are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, which is a lot better than they have done in recent memory.
The Detroit Red Wings at one point were the lone team on the outside looking in of the wild card race. Most of the season the Eastern Conference was split right down the middle with the top 8 and the bottom 8, where Detroit had a sniffle of a chance for the final playoff spot but the Boston Bruins had a lot of games in hand. The Red Wings slipped, the Bruins and Washington Capitals kept collecting points, and now there is a 23 point difference between them and the final spot.
Still, they have had an encouraging season as they are currently undergoing a rebuild with Steve Yzerman at the helm. Dylan Larkin leads the team with 27 goals and 59 points in 57 games, Tyler Bertuzzi has 24 goals and 49 points in 51 games, and rookies, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider have had tremendous first years with 47 and 42 points respectively in 62 games.
For the Flyers, Cam Atkinson leads the way in goals and points with 23 and 47 respectively, while Travis Konecny is now second with 38 points in 60 games, Scott Laughton is third with 28 in 54 games, and Joel Farabee is right behind him with 27 in 44 games. A very stark contrast between the team’s top point producers.
The Flyers are 31st in the league in goals per game (2.52), 17th in shots on goal (30.6), 30th on the man advantage (13.8%), and 31st in shooting percentage (8.2%). Defensively they are 24th in goals allowed per game (3.39), 29th in shots on goal allowed (33.9), and 26th on the penalty kill (75.6%). The Red Wings are 20th in goals per game (2.82), 25th in shots on goal (29.5), 26th on the power play (18.1%), and T14th in shooting percentage (9.6%). Defensively they are 31st in goals allowed (3.71), 27th in shots allowed (33.5), and tied for 29th on the penalty kill (74%).
PHI Record: 20-31-11, 51 pts, 7th in Metropolitan
DET Record: 25-30-7, 57 pts, 5th in Atlantic
When: 7:30pm ET
Where: Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, MI
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (13-19-7, .911 SV%, 2.94 GAA, 1 SO)
DET Goalie: Alex Nedeljkovic (16-19-6, .904 SV%, 3.15 GAA, 2 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#25 James van Riemsdyk – #13 Kevin Hayes – #89 Cam Atkinson
#86 Joel Farabee – #48 Morgan Frost – #11 Travis Konecny
#23 Oskar Lindblom – #38 Patrick Brown – #74 Owen Tippett
#71 Max Willman – #17 Zack MacEwen
#9 Ivan Provorov – #45 Cam York
#6 Travis Sanheim – #70 Rasmus Ristolainen
#3 Keith Yandle – #24 Nick Seeler
#8 Kevin Connauton
#79 Carter Hart
#35 Martin Jones
DET Projected Lineup
#15 Jakub Vrana – #71 Dylan Larkin – #23 Lucas Raymond
#59 Tyler Bertuzzi – #24 Pius Suter – #11 Filip Zadina
#73 Adam Erne – #27 Michael Rasmussen – #70 Oskar Sundqvist
#48 Givani Smith – #90 Joe Veleno – #89 Sam Gagner
#18 Marc Staal – #53 Moritz Seider
#84 Olli Juolevi – #17 Filip Hronek
#8 Jake Walman – #28 Gustav Lindstrom
#39 Alex Nedeljkovic
#29 Thomas Greiss
Last Game PHI: 3/20/22, 2-1 W vs NY Islanders
Last Game DET: 3/19/22, 4-2 L at Seattle
News and Notes:
– This is the third and final meeting between these two clubs with the Red Wings winning both games in February’s home and home after the All-Star Break, 6-3 and 4-2, respectively.
– This is their 147th meeting all-time with the Flyers holding a 71-52-21-2 advantage in the series.
– Cam Atkinson has 17 goals and 29 points in 37 career games against the Red Wings, while Carter Hart is 4-2-0 in 6 career games with a .909 SV% and a 2.86 GAA.
– Captain Dylan Larkin has 4 goals and 13 points in 16 career games against the Flyers, Lucas Raymond has 3 points in his 2 games against the Flyers, while Alex Nedeljkovic holds a 1-1-0 record in 2 career starts against the Flyers with a .875 SV% and a 3.50 GAA.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
Injuries:
PHI – Sean Couturier (back), Nate Thompson (shoulder), Ryan Ellis (lower-body), Scott Laughton (concussion)
DET – Robby Fabbri (lower-body), Mitchell Stephens (lower-body), Carter Rowney (undisclosed)
