A New Foe

After managing to get out of New Jersey with two wins, despite not playing anywhere near their full potential, the Flyers return home to the Wells Fargo Center tonight for the first in a back-to-back series against the New York Islanders. But the home team will likely look a bit different when they take the ice, with Travis Konecny seemingly being benched tonight in exchange for Samuel Morin‘s season debut – his first game as a forward. In addition, Philippe Myers is expected to make his return to the roster after recovering from injury.

Last game (January 28, 2021): PHI 3  NJD 1  F

For a complete game recap: Flyers – Devils: Fourth Line Fortitude

Players to Watch

• Samuel Morin
  It’s been a long road back from injury for Morin, and if he does in fact take a spot on the active roster tonight, as it appeared in the morning skate he would, it will be a big moment for him. Add in that it’ll be his first time playing professional hockey as a forward, and you’ve got all the makings of an exciting night for Morin.
• Philippe Myers
  Will the young defenseman really make his return to the lineup after suffering a rib injury? If so, it’ll be an immediate injection of much-needed strength on the back end. The defense has been sloppy and leaky, at best, and can use all the help they can get.
• Kevin Hayes
  Alain Vigneault made it clear on Thursday night that he was not impressed with his top-six forwards. It seems that Konecny is going to be the scapegoat for the two lines and will be a healthy scratch tonight, but it will be up to Hayes and the rest of the veteran forwards to show that they can be better and lead this team’s offense.

Keys to Victory

• Puck Possession
  Controlling the game is an area the Flyers have sorely struggled with in recent games. They’re turning the puck over too much, and constantly chasing the play. The Islanders are coming off a big loss to the Capitals and Philadelphia can’t spend 60 minutes trying to keep up. The home team needs to set the tone right from opening faceoff.
• Veteran Presence
  Having Konecny watching from the press box should be a message from Vigneault heard loud and clear throughout the dressing room. As mentioned in the “Players to Watch” segment above, forwards like Hayes, Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and James van Riemsdyk are going to need to start performing like the seasoned veterans they are.
• Tighten Defense
  The defense has played fast and loose this week, and even with the addition of Myers on the blue line, they’ll need to tighten up to keep the Islanders out of the Philadelphia zone as much as possible.

2020-21 statistics

• “It was unreal. I can’t really describe it. I never gave up hope.”

Bottom Line

If the Flyers take their foot off the gas at any point during this game, it could lead to total meltdown. They have to take the pressure they’re under and channel it into big, meaningful shifts from start to finish.