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Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (31-23-11) are back home on Saturday night to take veteran coach Rick Bowness’s Columbus Blue Jackets (33-21-11). Entering play on Saturday, the Flyers have won six of their last eight games.
This is the first of two March meetings between Philadelphia and Columbus. Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday is 7:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP.
The Flyers have 17 games remaining in their schedule: eight at home and nine on the road. They won back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, defeating the Washington Capitals 4-1 at Xfinity Mobile Arena and then capturing a 3-2 (1-0) shootout road win over a more rested Minnesota Wild team the next night.
The Flyers (73 points, 20 regulation wins) still face an uphill climb for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference but they’ve started to chip away at the deficit somewhat. Every game is a virtual must-win situation.
Tocchet’s team has set a goal to keep the games meaningful for as long as possible. Beyond that, the Flyers have to simply let the chips fall where they may. Philly can only control their own play and worry about the game immediately in front of them.
Likewise, the Flyers cannot worry about catching the teams above the cutoff line for the playoffs before they catch the clubs immediately in front of them. The Blue Jackets (77 points, 23 RW) are the most immediate target. Philly needs to win both head-to-head home meetings with Columbus this month.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 7:30 p.m. EDT 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 65 games)
Travis Konecny — 58 points (24g, 34a) in 61 games
Trevor Zegras — 54 points (22g, 32a)
Owen Tippett — 40 points (22g, 18a)
Christian Dvorak — 38 points (13g, 25a)
Noah Cates — 34 points (12g, 22a)
Matvei Michkov — 33 points (16g, 17a)
Sean Couturier — 29 points (7g, 22a)
Travis Sanheim — 28 points (6g, 22a)
Jamie Drysdale — 27 points (7g, 20a)
Cam York — 24 points (4g, 20a) in 58 games
Nikita Grebenkin — 14 points (4g, 10a) in 51 games
Goaltender stats
Dan Vladar — 40 GP, 21-11-6, 2.00 GAA, .904 SV%
Samuel Ersson — 27 GP, 10-10-5, 3.30 GAA, .863 SV%
Aleksei Kolosov — 4 GP, 0-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .830 SV%
Projected Flyers Lineup
The Flyers will hold a 10:30 a.m. morning skate at the FTC in Voorhees. The venue shift is due to a Philadelphia 76ers game at Xfinity Mobile Arena in the afternoon. The projected lineup below will be adjusted after the morning skate.
Alex Bump — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Carl Grundstrom — Trevor Zegras — Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin — Sean Couturier — Luke Glendening
Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler — Noah Juulsen
Samuel Ersson
[Dan Vladar]
Scratches: Emil Andrae (healthy), Garnet Hathaway (healthy).
Flyers Daily: Weekend outlook
Jason Myrtetus reviews the Flyers’ surprise win in Minnesota on Thursday. He also takes a look at Trevor Zegras’ recent play at center.
