Injuries Abound

The Flyers are already without the services of Sean Couturier, who is recovering from a rib separation, and news broke earlier today confirming Flyers fans’ worst fears: both Philippe Myers and Morgan Frost will be out of the lineup for a while as well after sustaining injuries in Tuesday’s game against Buffalo. Myers has a fractured rib and is considered week-to-week, while Frost dislocated his left shoulder and will be out indefinitely. Connor Bunnaman and Mark Friedman are set to make their season debuts tonight against Boston in place of their injured teammates. Samuel Morin was also recalled from the AHL to Philadelphia’s taxi squad today, most likely as the 13th forward (remember, he’s a left-winger now).

Last game (January 19, 2021): PHI 3  BUF 0  F

For a complete game recap: Flyers – Sabres: A Costly Win

Players to Watch

• Connor Bunnaman
  After spending the better part of two seasons with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (AHL), where he accumulated 25 goals and 16 assists over 91 total games played, Bunnaman looks primed and ready to make the case that’s he can be an NHL player. Although last year he was limited to just a single goal and assist in his 21 games with the Flyers, he proved himself worthy of playing in four playoff games as well. Bunnaman has had a good offseason and camp, and should use this opportunity to grab some attention.
• Mark Friedman
  Friedman’s journey to the NHL has been somewhat of bumpy ride, shuffling back and forth between the AHL and NHL more than a few times for the past three seasons. But this year, fresh off of a decent training camp, he found himself on the Philadelphia taxi squad. He’ll be on the third pairing with Robert Hagg tonight, but on a team whose back end is middle-of-the-pack at best, look for Friedman to try to make an immediate impact.
• Jake Voracek
  Aside from making headlines last weekend after a post-game media session outburst that went viral around the hockey community, Voracek has been relatively quiet where it really matters: on the ice. That is, until Tuesday’s game when he scored his first goal of the season and was much more involved from a play-making perspective. He has a chance to build on that tonight against the Bruins, as he and James van Riemsdyk skate with a new center, Scott Laughton, who bumps up to make room for Bunnaman on the fourth line.

Keys to Victory

• Take Control
  Still without Couturier, and with a couple of fresh faces in the lineup, the Flyers need to take control of the puck and the pace early on in tonight’s matchup. They can’t allow guys like Patrice Bergeron any open ice, and they need to stay with the puck, win board battles, and dictate the game’s speed.
• Clog Neutral Zone
  Going hand-in-hand with the previous bullet point, the Flyers can’t afford to leave the neutral zone wide open. Clogging lanes and forcing turnovers will keep the Bruins chasing the play. At the same time, Philadelphia can’t allow their own NZ turnovers, so clean zone exits will be key.
• Maintain discipline
  With only two wins under their belt, you can bet the Bruins want to make a statement in their home opener. Pests like Brad Marchand will do their best to draw meaningless penalties, and the Flyers can’t fall prey to those kinds of games. Stick to the game plan, and stay out of the box.

2020-21 statistics

• “I thought he was the most improved player in camp this year.”

Alain Vigneault on Oskar Lindblom

• “I’m getting 100%. Whatever he does, he gives 100%. The kid is all-in and he gives it all every shift. It’s what I expect from him and what I expect from this team.”

Bottom Line

After an embarrassing loss against the Sabres on Monday night, the Flyers bounced back appropriately on Tuesday to get back into the win column. Every man on the team, including the new guys, need to step up in the absence of injured teammates and play the Philadelphia system to perfection in order to nab their fourth victory of the year.