Game Day Preview #71: Flyers vs. Bruins

Siobhan Nolan

Mar 23, 2024, 14:40

Siobhan Nolan

Mar 23, 2024, 14:40

The Philadelphia Flyers will face the Boston Bruins for the second time in a week, this time in Philadelphia, as they look to avenge their loss in the pair's previous meeting.

While the Flyers' performances have been trending upwards lately, they've had a string of strenuous opponents, a fair bit of travel, and very no practices and morning skates to prep for this game. Very few of their players are used to the toll this playoff push takes, so it will be another testament to how well John Tortorella's team can handle the ongoing pressure.

Keep Konecny Confident

Travis Konecny scored a much-needed goal against the Carolina Hurricanes, marking his first since coming back from an upper body injury on Mar. 7. The hope is that this boosts his confidence back up to where he can start playing more like he did in the first half of the season.

When Konecny is on his game, he makes a huge impact on the entire game. A ball of energy that never stops moving, pestering the other team, and, most importantly, generating offense, Konecny's presence on the ice has the ability to complete change the tempo of the game. He hasn't been looking like his usual Energizer Bunny self since returning from injury, but now that he has the weight of a score drought off of his back, he can continue progressing back to full strength and create problems for this very strong Bruins team.

Fixing The Finishing

A frustrating trend this season is that Flyers have often found themselves saying, "Well, we should be up by [two, three, four, etc.] goals right now." These are not just the gripes of fans annoyed that their team is losing. The Flyers' finishing has absolutely cost them games, and with a high-scoring opponent like the Bruins have been against them, they'll need all the goals they can get.

It's not like they haven't had plentiful scoring chances either. The playmaking abilities of Morgan Frost especially would be ridiculously clutch if his teammates could capitalize on them more, but they've struggled with getting their timing and shot power where it needs to be to get it past the opposing goalie. No matter which Bruins goalie they face at the Wells Fargo Center this afternoon, they'll need to make every effort to bury the puck at every opportunity.

Big Defensive Performance Needed

This seems like a "duh" statement, but with the Washington Capitals coming in hot behind the Flyers, the defense needs to continue stepping up. They've looked solid the past couple of games, especially the freshly called-up pairing of Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning, but with either a surely tired Sam Ersson or Felix Sandstrom, who doesn't have a whole lot of experience in big games like these, in net, the blue line will need to be at the top of their game.

It's crucial that they stay collected and not break down to allow a flurry of goals like the last time these two teams played each other, which gave the Flyers a huge mountain to climb to try and take back control of the game (although, to be fair, they very much did almost pull off a truly dazzling comeback).

Flyers Projected Lines:

Forwards:

Tippett - Frost - Konecny

Farabee - Laughton - Brink

Foerster - Poehling - Hathaway

Deslauriers - Cates - Lycksell

Defense:

York - Sanheim

Ginning - Attard

Zamula - Johnson

Starting Goalie:

Sandstrom