In the seventh game of an eight-game homestand, Interim head coach Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (16-28-10) will host interim head coach Derek King's Chicago Blackhawks (20-27-8) at the Wells Fargo on Saturday afternoon. Game time is 3:00 p.m. ET (ABC, 97.5 The Fanatic).
This is the first of two meetings this season between the teams. They will rematch at the United Center in Chicago on April 25.
Apart from a certain measure of pride in a game between two clubs out of the playoff race in their respective conferences, there is history on the line in this game. With one huge exception -- Game 6 of 2010 Stanley Cup Finals -- the Flyers have not lost a single game at home to the Chicago Blackhawks since Nov. 9, 1996. The Flyers' home record against Chicago since the 1996-97 season is 16-0-0 (18-0-1 if the playoffs are included). It's their longest active regular season home unbeaten streak against any NHL team. The Flyers franchise record home unbeaten streak against an opponent is 42 games (39-0 with three ties) against the Pittsburgh Penguins over a 15-year span from Feb. 7, 1974 to Feb. 3, 1989.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a galling 5-4 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening. Philadelphia held leads of 1-0 (first period), 2-1 (first period), 3-2 (second period) and 4-3 (second period into the latter half of the third period). A pair of breakdowns on back-to-back shifts were converted into tying and go-ahead goals by the Wild. The Flyers were unable to find an equalizer once they finally trailed. Overall, though, it was a sloppy performance from start to finish; one that resulted in Yeo calling out the team publicly after the game and, after an "uncomfortable" team meeting on Friday morning, addressing again with the media following Friday's practice.
The Blackhawks, conversely, won their last game. On Thursday, in Duncan Keith's return to Chicago, the Blackhawks saw three separate one-goal leads evaporate before prevailing in overtime, 4-3. Alex DeBrincat scored the game-winner at 2:23 of sudden death for his 30th goal of the season. Sam Lafferty (2nd), Patrick Kane (17th) and Dominik Kubalik (11th) tallied in regulation for Chicago. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves to earn the win.
Here are five things to watch in this game:
1. Hayes Returns Amid Lineup Shuffling
The last calendar year has been the most trying time of Flyers' center Kevin Hayes' entire life: both personally and professionally. About two weeks ago, Hayes finally got some desperately needed good news after two separate abdominal muscle surgeries (May and September 2021) and a clean-out procedure following a severe infection that developed throughout his groin, including the drainage of fluid from his adductor region. Doctors recently informed Hayes that the infection is nearly gone and that playing hockey again would not, in and of itself, cause him to need another surgery. Hayes has been skating pain-free of late and reports that he feels essentially100 percent healthy for the first time in well over a year.
The decision on whether to play again this season was made by Hayes himself, the player said on Friday. Hayes (20 GP, three goals, nine points) will rejoin the Flyers' lineup on Saturday afternoon for the first time since Jan. 17 against the New York Islanders.
Apart from Hayes' return, the Flyers' lineup will have large-scale changes from the combinations that started Thursday's game. There are changes on three of the four forward lines, including Claude Giroux moving from center back to left wing for the first time since Sean Couturier was lost for the season back in mid-December. Yeo said on Friday that there were multiple players he considered scratching for Saturday's afternoon game. The short straw went to Gerry Mayhew, who will not be in the lineup for this game. Martin Jones will get the start in goal.
Justin Braun, who is battling the flu and was unable to finish Thursday's game, did not participate in Friday's optional practice. He stayed home to rest and recuperate. Yeo said on Friday that he'd spoken with Braun and the veteran defenseman said he was starting to feel better. The player is expected to be in Saturday's lineup. If Braun is unable to play, Kevin Connauton will substitute.
The Flyers' projected lineup is as follows:
28 Claude Giroux - 21 Scott Laughton - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 19 Derick Brassard - 89 Cam Atkinson
23 Oskar Lindblom - 13 Kevin Hayes - 25 James van Riemsdyk
71 Max Willman - 38 Patrick Brown - 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim- 70 Rasmus Ristolainen
3 Keith Yandle - 24 Nick Seeler
35 Martin Jones
[79 Carter Hart]
2. Response to team meeting
After Friday's practice, Yeo said that he was "still angry" about what he saw in the previous night's game against Minnesota -- the Wild were sloppy but the Flyers (15 charged giveaways among other issues) were even sloppier. Fundamentally, though, the coach was most displeased about the team's ongoing issues in responding to adversity and in holding one another accountable over and above anything the coaching staff preaches on the ice and in video breakdown meetings.
"It's more about a winning attitude. Do you come to the rink and feel sorry for yourself? Do you come to the rink and say, 'OK, there might be a trade in a week and see what happens then?' Do you come to the rink and maybe say it's not our night tonight?" Yeo said.
"When you have that attitude that we're not going to let anything stop us," things will fall into place. "We're not doing that right now. Not enough. That's why we're close to winning games, but we're not winning games."
3. Inside the Numbers
The Blackhawks have been a decent power play team, connecting 20.7 percent of the time, but their five-on-five goal differential is even worse than the Flyers'. Both teams have struggled to kill penalties -- the Hawks all season and the Flyers since the Christmas break. However, there has been some improvement recently with the Flyers' PK now that they are getting more of their regulars back in the lineup.
Flyers vs. Blackhawks: Key rankings, goal/shot differentials by period, special teams comparison, GF/GA by situation. pic.twitter.com/caF2MJonDd
- Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) March 5, 2022
4. Behind Enemy Lines: Chicago Blackhawks
The two biggest names from the Chicago glory years -- Patrick Kane (17 goals and 55 points in 51 GP, minus-20) and captain Jonathan Toews (four goals and 19 points in 44 GP) -- are what's left from the duration of the team's run of three Stanley Cup championships in six years. The team's 2010 championship ended a 50-season drought.
Toews returned to the lineup against Edmonton last game after being out since January 26. Kane has five goals and eight points over his last four games.
DeBrincat's 30-goal season ranks seventh in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. He is one goal behind Boston sniper David Pastrnak for sixth.
The two marquee additions the Blackhawks made last off-season were defenseman Seth Jones (three goals, 32 points overall, 15 power play points, 26:06 TOI, minus-25) and goalie Fleury (17-19-4, 2.83 GAA, .911 SV%, four shutouts).
5. Players to Watch: Giroux and Kane
Claude Giroux first burst into leaguewide prominence during the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs. Most notably, he notched the overtime winner in Game 3 of the Final against Chicago. For his career, he has 24 points (six goals, 18 assist) in 18 regular season games against the Blackhawks.
Red-hot of late, one of the crowning achievements of Patrick Kane's career was also one of the biggest heartbreaking moments of Flyers' franchise history -- his overtime "disappearing puck" goal from an improbable angle that ended the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. For his career, Kane has five goals and 17 points in 17 games against the Flyers.
Five Things: Flyers vs. Blackhawks - NHL.com
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment