Flyers Game Day: Jan. 12 vs. Lightning

Bill Meltzer’s Flyers blog is powered by Phans of Philly, by Lights On Electric, by New Balance of Mount Laurel, by Cover All Exteriors, by Summit Public Adjusters and our newest sponsors, The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles.

Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (22-13-8) playing the second game of a home back-to-back against Jon Cooper’s Tampa Bay Lightning (27-13-3) on Monday evening. Led by a four-point (2g, 2a) performance from Nikita Kucherov, the Bolts earned a 7-2 blowout on Saturday.

n a losing cause, Garnet Hathaway (1st goal of the season) and Owen Tippett (PPG, 14th) scored for the Flyers. Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 19 of 20 shots to earn the win in goal. Gage Goncalves scored twice for Tampa Bay. Nick Paul, Yanni Gourde, Brandon Hagel notched a goal apiece.

Tampa brings a nine-game winning streak into Monday’s match. Kucherov has a nine-game point streak, with multi-point efforts in each of the last eight matches. Meanwhile, the Flyers have been excellent at bouncing back from losses this season. Entering Monday’s game, the Flyers are 12-1-5 when coming off a loss of any kind: 9-1-2 in the next game after a regulation defeat.

Where to watch

Time and broadcast: 7:00 p.m. ET on NBCSP
Listen online: FlyersRadio 24/7
RAV4 keys to the game for Philadelphia: click here
In-game watch party (Maher Media): click here

Leading scorers: Flyers (through 43 games)

Trevor Zegras — 41 points (17g, 24a)
Travis Konecny — 38 points (14g, 24a)
Christian Dvorak — 28 points (9g, 19a)
Owen Tippett — 26 points (14g, 12a)
Noah Cates — 24 points (10g, 14a)
Sean Couturier — 24 points (5g, 19a)
Matvei Michkov — 23 points (9g, 14a)
Bobby Brink — 20 points (11g, 9a)
Travis Sanheim — 19 points (5, 14a)
Cam York — 18 points (3g, 15a) in 36 games
Jamie Drysdale — 18 points (3g, 15a)

Goaltender stats

Dan Vladar — 26 GP, 16-6-4, 2.35 GAA, .910 SV%
Samuel Ersson — 16 GP, 6-6-4, 3.33 GAA, .858 SV%

Injury report: Flyers

Tyson Foerster (right arm surgery) is likely out for the rest of the season. He has a five-month estimated timetable from December.
Jamie Drysdale (suspected concussion) is on IR, retroactive to January 6. He participated in the team’s morning skate on Saturday and Sunday’s practice in Voorhees in a non-contact (red) jersey.
Bobby Brink (upper body) is probable to play on Monday. He missed the last two games but practiced in full on Sunday. (Update: Brink did not feel up to participating in Monday’s morning skate. He will miss at least one more game).
Travis Konecny is day-to-day. He left the January 8 game against Toronto after the second period with an upper-body injury. He missed Saturday’s game. Konecny returned to practice on Monday. The two-time Bobby Clarke Trophy winner returned to practice on Sunday. However, early in Sunday’s session, Konecny took a Nick Seeler shot off his knee and the forward’s knee went numb. Konecny tried to walk it off. After sitting on the bench for a prolonged period, he took a test skate on the ice. Konecny then went back to the locker room with practice still ongoing. His status for Monday will be a game-day decision.
Carl Grundstrom missed Sunday’s practice due to illness. His status for Monday depends on how he feels on game day.

Projected Flyers Lineup

Saturday’s game saw the Flyers juggle line combinations throughout the night. Look for Brink to return to the lineup on Monday. Konecny and Grundstrom are both questionable. The placeholder lines below will be updated after Monday’s morning skate.

Matvei Michkov – Christian Dvorak – Trevor Zegras
Denver Barkey – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Carl Grundstrom
Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Rasmus Ristolainen
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]

Scratches: Adam Ginning (healthy), Bobby Brink (upper body)
Questionable: Travis Konecny (upper body and knee), Carl Grundstrom (illness)

Flyers Opponent: Tampa Bay Lightning

Leading scorers (through 43 games)

Nikita Kucherov — 65 points (22g, 43a) in 39 games
Jake Guentzel — 45 points (19g, 26a)
Brandon Hagel — 39 points (21g, 18a) in 38 games
Darren Raddysh — 37 points (12g, 25a) in 37 games
Brayden Point — 29 points (10g, 19a) in 36 games
Anthony Cirelli — 27 points (12g, 15a) in 39 games
Oliver Bjorkstrand — 20 points (6g, 14a)
Charle-Edouard D’Astou — 16 points (3g, 13a)
Yanni Gourde — 15 points (6g,9a)
Gage Goncalves — 15 points (6g,9a)
J.J. Moser — 14 points (4g, 10a, +35)

Goaltender stats

Andrei Vasilevskiy — 27 GP, 18-7-2, 2.33 GAA, .913 SV%
Jonas Johansson — 17 GP, 9-6-1, 2.83 GAA, .894 SV%

Injury report: Lightning

Veterar star defenseman Victor Hedman (elbow surgery) in on IR.
Fellow veteran D-man Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed) is on IR.
Defenseman Emil Lilleberg (undisclosed) in on IR.
Winger Scott Sabourin (undisclosed) is on IR.

Projected lineup: Lightning (Saturday’s lines)

Gage Goncalves – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel – Anthony Cirelli – Jake Guentzel
Zemgus Girgensons – Yanni Gourde – Pontus Holmberg
Nick Paul – Dominic James – Oliver Bjorkstrand

J.J. Moser – Darren Raddysh
Charle-Edouard D’Astous – Erik Cernak
Declan Carlile — Maxwell Crozier

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Jonas Johansson