Home Featured Flyers – Penguins: Ready For Round Two | GAME PREVIEW

Flyers – Penguins: Ready For Round Two | GAME PREVIEW

0
Flyers – Penguins: Ready For Round Two | GAME PREVIEW

GAME DAY | Philadelphia Flyers vs Pittsburgh Penguins Preview, TV, Start Time, Statistical Match-up, Projected Lines, Starting Goalies, Keys to Victory, Flyers Tickets

Game Preview

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.

Statistical Matchup
Wells Fargo Center, PA | January 15, 7:00 PM ET | TV: NHLN, NBCSP, SN, TVAS 

2020-21 statistics

PENGUINS FLYERS
0 (26th) Points (rank) 2 (3rd)
0-1-0 Record 1-0-0
0-1-0 Home/Away 1-0-0
0-1-0 Last 10 1-0-0
3.00 GF/G 6.00
6.00 GA/G 3.00
33.3 PP% 66.7
33.3 PK% 66.7
56.47  CF% 43.53

Pre-game Quotes
 Kevin Hayes

  • “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.”
Projected Forwards, Defense and Goaltenders (subject to change)
Forwards
Guentzel – Crosby – Rodrigues
Zucker – Malkin – Rust
McCann – Jankowski – Tanev
Lafferty – Blueger – Sceviour
Lindblom – Couturier – Konecny
Giroux – Hayes – Farabee
van Riemsdyk – Patrick – Voracek
Raffl – Laughton – Aube-Kubel
Defensemen
Dumoulin – Letaing
Pettersson – Marino
Matheson – Ruhwedel
Provorov – Braun
Sanheim – Myers
Hagg – Gustafsson
Out of the lineup
Scratched: Ceci, Kapanen
Taxi: Lagace, D’Orio, Joseph, O’Connor, Angello, Gaudreau
Injured: none
Scratched: Frost, Friedman, Gostisbehere
Taxi: Lyon, Morin, Prosser, Twarynski, Bunnaman, Andreoff
Injured: none
Goalies (2020-21 statistics)
Tristan Jarry Carter Hart
Record: 0-1-0
GAA: – 6.02
Sv%: – .760
SO: 0
Alternate: Casey DeSmith
Record: 1-0-0
GAA: – 3.00
Sv%: – .912
SO: 0
Alternate: Brian Elliott
 Game Expectations
According to Pittsburgh media in attendance at this morning’s skate, the Penguins’ compete level will be very high tonight. Expect the physicality to ramp up in this game, and watch for the Pens to bring a hard forecheck. The Flyers can’t let emotions take over and need to stay disciplined, despite the fact that the power play looked pretty good on Wednesday. Fast pace and tighter defense are probably on tap for tonight’s game.

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.

 Video Highlights

Follow @TheFlyersReport on Twitter

By Amy Johnson, Lead Correspondent
The Flyers Report
Copyright © 2021 Rocket Sports

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here