As the dust settles on their blockbuster trade deal, the Flyers will face the Canadiens before hitting the road again.
The Philadelphia Flyers will take on the Montreal Canadiens in the last of their four-game home stand, and their first since the earth-shattering Cutter Gauthier-Jamie Drysdale trade.
Head coach John Tortorella confirmed that Samuel Ersson would get the start in net, and that Nick Deslauriers will sit this game out. Tortorella acknowledged that he "thinks the world" of Deslauriers as a person, noting that the forward was "miserable" about the decision but is a "great professional" and took it in stride.
"It was hard, but these are the decisions I have to make," Tortorella said.
It was also confirmed that Jamie Drysdale would be making his much-anticipated debut against the Canadiens. During morning skate, Drysdale was practicing in a pair with Travis Sanheim again, making it likely that Sanheim will be his partner (at least for this particular game). Tortorella also confirmed that Drysdale would be on the Flyers' second power play unit for the game.
Drysdale makes his debut in a time where the Flyers' defensive quality has worryingly decreased. Tortorella said the coaching staff has done video review sessions so players can see exactly where certain elements of their defensive structure have gone awry, hoping to not repeat the many defensive errors made against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Jan. 8.
The Flyers will be looking to shake off the inconsistency displayed during this run of home games before they set out for a three-game road trip in the Midwest, mainly focusing on helping Drysdale transition from the Anaheim Ducks' man-to-man defensive system to the Flyers' more zone coverage-focused style, along with lending more support to the line of Joel Farabee, Travis Konecny, and Sean Couturier, who have been the most reliable on offense as of late.
Flyers Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Farabee - Couturier - Konecny
Tippett - Frost - Atkinson
Foerster - Laughton - Hathaway
Zamula - Poehling - Brink
Defense:
Sanheim - Drysdale
York - Walker
Seeler - Ristolainen
Ersson
Canadiens Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Caufield - Suzuki - Slafkovsky
Ylonen - Monahan - Heineman
Anderson - Evans - Gallagher
Pezzetta - Stephens - Armia
Defense:
Matheson - Savard
Guhle - Barron
Struble - Harris
Primeau