Game Day Preview: Flyers vs. Penguins
One of the most heated rivalries in the NHL meets for the second time this season.
Game Day Preview: Flyers vs. PenguinsThe Philadelphia Flyers are back at the Wells Fargo Center for what is sure to be a heated matchup against their biggest rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Flyers are coming off of a scrappy and literally hard-fought win against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 6, in a game where they pulled together yet another come-from-behind victory, finally scored a power play goal, and threw enough punches to get fans talking about how the Broad Street Bullies era could be making a comeback (a point that's hard to argue when Joel Farabee got was sent off the ice for over 10 minutes and fistfights broke out after the final whistle.)
Besides the no-hesitation fisticuffs, the power play goal from Sean Couturier was a big talking point from the night. The Flyers have become infamous for their wholly disappointing power play, which is one of the worst in the entire league, and sees the Flyers completely waste one (and sometimes two) man advantages. Couturier's goal was still a bit of a weird one, but no Flyers fan is going to complain about a power play goal.
Other notable storylines include Travis Konecny netting his 5th shorthanded goal of the season, Morgan Frost getting a goal and an assist after a controversial healthy scratch against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Cam York blowing kisses to the Flames as the teams headed off the ice after the game, a la Team USA at the 2024 World Juniors Championship.
All signs point to the Flyers having a turning point against the Flames, and it looks as though they have shaken off their abysmal late December-first days of January road trip and are ready to take back their hold on their place in the Metropolitan Division and in the playoffs. Flyers/Penguins games always launch emotions into the stratosphere, but it'll be an especially telling performance for the Flyers to see if they're truly prepared to make their way back to the postseason.
Flyers Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Farabee - Couturier - Konecny
Foerster - Frost - Brink
Tippett - Laughton - Atkinson
Deslauriers - Poehling - Hathaway
Defenders:
York - Sanheim
Seeler - Walker
Zemula - Ristolainen
Hart
Penguins Projected Lines:
Forwards:
Guentzel - Crosby - Rakell
Smith - Malkin - Rust
O'Connor - Eller - Puustinen
Harkins - Acciari - Carter
Defenders:
Pettersson - Letang
Joseph - Karlsson
Graves - Ruhwedel
Jarry