Back-to-Back

After a tightly played 40 minutes on Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers opened up their scoring in the final frame to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 in their season opener. 12 different players tallied at least one point in the game, with six different goal scorers. The two clubs meet again tonight at the Wells Fargo Center for the second half of a back-to-back series to kick of the 2020-21 season.

Last game (January 13, 2021): PHI 6  PIT 3  F

For a complete game recap: Flyers – Penguins: An Emotional Homecoming

Players to Watch

• Joel Farabee
  Farabee made headlines with his four-point night on Wednesday, scoring one goal and three assists. He needs only two points tonight to match Bobby Clarke‘s record for most points scored by a Philadelphia player through his first two games of a season. Clarke did it in 1975 and in 1977, and Farabee could join him – or even pass him – with another standout performance tonight.
• Erik Gustafsson
  As the sole newcomer on the Flyers roster this year, Erik Gustafsson wasted no time in making a mark with his new team. He was central to the Flyers’ first period success on Wednesday, notching two key assists on consecutive power play goals by James van Riemsdyk and Nolan Patrick.
• Nolan Patrick
  The young forward scored a goal in his first game back since April 2019. There were some obvious nerves and adrenaline showing in the early portions of the game, but it didn’t take Patrick long to settle in and show his skill. Look for him to expand his role as his confidence grows shift after shift.

Keys to Victory

• Maintain momentum
  After securing victory in such a dominant fashion on Wednesday, the Flyers will want to keep that energy and motivation going for tonight’s matchup. They can expect Pittsburgh to come out strong and looking for payback.
• Improve even-strength play
  In Wednesday’s post-game comments, Alain Vigneault admitted the one area he thought could have been better was the team’s five-on-five play.
• Keep it simple
  As Kevin Hayes mentioned after Wednesday’s game, the Flyers have a knack for wearing down teams late into games and using that grind to their advantage. By relying on the basic, strongest components of the team’s game, they’ll be more likely to succeed again tonight.

2020-21 statistics

• “I like our team. Every line has a really good player on it that can score some goals. The reason I signed here is every night you’re going to play with good players, and tonight we showed that.”

Travis Konecny

• “I think we capitalized on our chances. I still think there’s a little more from our group to give. We’re going to get better and better.”

Alain Vigneault

• “I’m looking forward to it. It feels almost like a shortened playoff season. We are in a tough division and you want to come out on top.”

Bottom Line

Carter Hart will want to erase that glaring mistake from last game, when he turned the puck over to Sidney Crosby in front of an open net, and needs to be at the top of his game against Pittsburgh tonight. Vigneault also wants to see his third line spend less time in their own zone and perform better away from the puck. If the Flyers can down the Pens twice in one week on home ice, it’ll be exactly the kind of start to the season they need.