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, and our newest sponsors, The Mens and Boys Store and Carl’s Cards and Collectibles.
Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (33-23-12) conclude their whirlwind West Coast road trip on Saturday afternoon. The opponent: Ryan Warsofsky’s San Jose Sharks (32-29-6). The Flyers bring a six-game road winning streak into this match.
Philadelphia will play its third game in less than four nights. On Wednesday, Tocchet’s team captured a 3-2 overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks. The next night, the Flyers defeated the Los Angeles Kings via shootout, 4-3 (2-0). In fact, all six games of the road winning streak have been decided beyond regulation.
The Flyers are an injury-riddled team right now but have found ways of late to collect desperately needed standings points. Philly is 7-2-1 over its last 10 games and 4-0-1 in its last five. The Sharks, two points behind the Kings for a Western Conference wildcard spot with one game in hand, have lost three games in a row in regulation. Meanwhile, they are 4-4-2 in their last 10 matches.
Travis Konecny (25th goal of the season), Noah Cates (14th) and Travis Sanheim (7th) scored second period goals for the Flyers in Los Angeles. They temporarily turned 1-0 and 2-1 deficits into a 3-2 lead. Later, Trevor Zegras and Matvei Michkov converted their shootout attempts to secure the bonus point. Backup goaltender Samuel Ersson earned the win in net.
Where to watch
Time and broadcast: 4:00 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 68 games)
Travis Konecny — 59 points (25g, 34a) in 64 games
Trevor Zegras — 54 points (22g, 32a)
Owen Tippett — 41 points (23g, 18a)
Christian Dvorak — 39 points (13g, 26a)
Noah Cates — 37 points (14g, 23a)
Matvei Michkov — 36 points (16g, 20a)
Travis Sanheim — 30 points (7g, 23a)
Sean Couturier — 29 points (7g, 22a)
Jamie Drysdale — 27 points (7g, 20a)
Cam York — 25 points (4g, 21a) in 61 games
Nikita Grebenkin — 14 points (4g, 10a) in 54 games
Goaltender stats
Dan Vladar — 42 GP, 22-11-7, 2.44 GAA, .907 SV%
Samuel Ersson — 28 GP, 11-10-5, 3.28 GAA, .864 SV%
Aleksei Kolosov — 4 GP, 0-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .830 SV%
Projected Flyers Lineup
The Flyers will not hold a morning skate in San Jose due to the early start time (1 p.m. PDT). The team was also unable to practice on Friday because of the back-to-back games that preceded it in Anaheim and Los Angeles.
Dan Vladar will get the start in goal. The rest of the lineup below is based off Thursday’s combinations in Los Angeles. However, the team hopes to have more options for Saturday.
With three forwards out with injury — Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey and Luke Glendening — Emil Andrae split shifts between defense and fourth line center. Veteran winger Garrett Wilson made his Flyers debut. Of the three injured forwards, Glendening may have the best chance to return on Saturday. The Flyers did not have any healthy scratches in LA.
Alex Bump – Christian Dvorak – Travis Konecny
Nikita Grebenkin – Trevor Zegras – Owen Tippett
Carl Grundstrom – Noah Cates – Matvei Michkov
Garrett Wilson – [Emil Andrae] – Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York – Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler – Noah Juulsen
Emil Andrae (7th defenseman/ 13th forward)
Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]
Flyers Daily: Kings Recap, Sharks Preview, Behn Wilson
