Everything you need to know ahead of Flyers-Red Wings tonight in Philadelphia
Tonight in Philadelphia, the Detroit Red Wings (15-10-4) will pay a visit to the Flyers (16-10-3) at the Wells Fargo Center. Here's everything you need to know ahead of tonight's game.
Mar 5, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Joe Veleno (90) skates past Philadelphia Flyers center Tanner Laczynski (58) on a breakaway during the first period at Wells Fargo Center. Injury Update and Lineup
Per an update from Derek Lalonde yesterday, both J.T. Compher and Klim Kostin are expected to return to the lineup tonight in Philadelphia, with the coach expressing that Kostin should certainly be available and that Compher is likely.
Compher has not played since December 5th in Buffalo, and Kostin has been out since December 7th against San Jose. Both would be major boosts to a Red Wing team that has looked beleaguered in its recent losing skid. Detroit formally activated both players from injured reserve this morning, another positive sign that they will be in tonight's lineup.
Assuming Kostin and Compher are good to go this evening, expect Detroit's lineup to resemble this one from yesterday's practice:
It's an interesting approach for the still Dylan Larkin-less Red Wings, with the team boasting credible attacking threat down the wing throughout the top nine.
Since yesterday's practice, Berggren was returned to Grand Rapids, so it's likely Christian Fischer (who took a maintenance day Friday and didn't participate in practice) will replace him on the fourth line.
Lyon Reassumes Net Against Former Team
Alex Lyon will get the start in net tonight, taking on the team with which his NHL career began. Lyon spent four seasons in Philadelphia, playing just 22 games in that time, while doing the bulk of his work with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in the AHL. At the NHL level, Lyon went 6-7-2, posting an .893 save percentage and 3.21 goals against average.
This year in Detroit, Lyon has been much sharper—accruing a .931 SV% and 2.13 GAA in six starts. However, Lyon's most recent start was his least effective, stopping just 21 of 25 shots last Saturday against the Ottawa Senators and being lifted after two periods.
Because of how well he performed to open the year, some amount of regression was inevitable for Lyon, but he will look to regain his top form tonight against his former team.
Flyers Soaring Above Expectations
The Flyers entered the season as a team projected to be more likely for the first overall pick than the postseason. Instead, John Tortorella's team sits at third in the Metropolitan Division and enters tonight's game having one five of six.
Travis Konecny leads the team in goals and points (16-8-24 in 29 games), but Philadelphia's success this year has had more to do with their defense.
The Flyers enter tonight's game allowing 2.72 goals per game (the eighth best mark in the league). Their penalty kill has been a major strength as well, with an 86.0% kill rate (fifth best in the NHL).
They will be without the services of their regular goaltender Carter Hart, however, as he continues to recover from an illness. In his stead, 24-year-old Samuel Ersson (a 2018 fifth rounder) will start in net. Ersson is 6-3-2 this season with an .885 save percentage and 2.80 goals against average.
"I like their blue collar game," said Derek Lalonde of Philadelphia's early season success. "They compete. I think their success has come the right way, and they're battling. We're in similar spots in the standings, and they're a team we're gonna be battling throughout [for a playoff spot]."
Where to Watch
Tonight's game in Philadelphia is a 7 PM start, and it will be broadcast by Bally Sports Detroit. For Michigan-based cord-cutters, that means it will also be available on BSD+, while out-of-market fans can find the game on ESPN+ or Hulu.