The Philadelphia Flyers will host the Chicago Blackhawks as they look to recover from a frustrating loss in Montreal on Mar. 28, as they also welcome goaltender Ivan Fedotov and defenseman Nick Seeler into the lineup.
The Philadelphia Flyers will host the Chicago Blackhawks as they look to recover from a frustrating loss in Montreal on Mar. 28, as they also welcome goaltender Ivan Fedotov and defenseman Nick Seeler into the lineup.
Seeler has been out with a lower body injury for four weeks, but head coach John Tortorella confirmed that he would be available to play against Chicago after he participated in the last couple of morning skates in a full-contact jersey.
Seeler Back Into The Lineup
Having Nick Seeler back into the lineup gives the defense a huge boost. While they've managed to get by with the emergency call-ups of Adam Ginning and Ronnie Attard, Seeler's speed, shot-blocking, and overall leadership on the back line has proven to be indispensable. While this is his first game without Sean Walker, in the defensive pairing that Tortorella called an interchangeable first pairing with Cam York and Travis Sanheim.
No Playing Down
The Blackhawks don't have much to play for, while the Flyers have everything to play for still—and often times, teams playing purely for pride can be the most dangerous. The Flyers experienced that a bit against the Canadiens, but Tortorella ited nsisted that "we didn't play flat, we just weren't dead on."
After having some rest time after back-to-back road games, they looked extremely energetic and well-rested. Chicago won't necessarily be an easy game, but with Seeler bolstering their defense and Morgan Frost, Cam York, and Tyson Foerster playing consistently well and holding up the team where it's needed, the Flyers have the chance to redeem themselves and dominate.
Foerster vs. Bedard
Tyson Foerster is currently third in the NHL for rookie goals, and he will be facing off against the Blackhawks' young superstar Connor Bedard tonight. Bedard. is only two goals ahead of Foerster to be first in the standings, so it will be very intriguing to see what both players do tonight. If the defense can keep Bedard quiet, they can set Foerster up to inch closer to the top of that list.
Foerster is fairly underrated when it comes to conversations about who the top rookies in the league are, so this could be his opportunity to show what he's got while going directly up against Bedard.
Flyers Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Tippett - Frost - Konecny
Farabee - Laughton - Brink
Foerster - Poehling - Hathaway
Cates - Couturier - Gurianov
Defense:
York - Sanheim
Seeler - Johnson
Zamula - Ginning
Starting Goalie:
Ersson
Blackhawks Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Donato - Bedard - Kurashev
Foligno - Johnson - Raddysh
Entwistle - Athanasiou - Reichel
Slaggert - Dickinson - Anderson
Defense:
Vlasic - Jones
Korchinski - Megna
Kaiser - Tinordi
Starting Goalie:
Soderblom
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