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The Philadelphia Flyers (8-5-1) return home from a short road trip when they host the Ottawa Senators (6-5-3) on Saturday afternoon.
Philadelphia enters the game after winning back-to-back games on the road and three of its last five games.
Ottawa enters Saturday’s game after back-to-back losses, and the winner of two of its last five games.
Can Philly pick up the offense where it left off on the road? Or, could Saturday’s game end up being another low-scoring affair?
The puck drops at 1:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.
Read More: PhHN Daily: Friedman on Flyers; McKenna vs. Martone; Kyrou Scratched
Forwards
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Nick Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen
Goaltenders
Sam Ersson
Dan Vladar
Special Teams
PP1: Drysdale, Cates, Zegras, Tippett, Brink
PP2: York, Couturier, Konecny, Dvorak, Michkov
PK1: Couturier, Konecny, Seeler, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Hathaway,York, Juulsen
One thing to keep an eye on in Saturday’s contest is the special teams matchup. The Senators boast a top-10 power play, converting on 26% of their chances, which ranks 7th in the league. On the other hand, the Flyers have been one of the best penalty-killing teams in the league, killing off 87.8% of their penalties, which is 5th in the league.
Ottawa ranks 31st in the league with a 3.86 GA/GP, while the Flyers are 25th in the league with 2.71 GF/GP. On the flip side, the Senators have a 3.43 GF/GP, 8th in the league, while the Phily allows 2.57 GA/GP. Obviously, the Flyers’ goaltending has been able to keep their underperforming offense in a position to win games. Saturday’s matchup seems favorable for the Flyers.
Lastly, with the lineup yet to be determined, I wonder if Carl Gundstrom will draw in for Philadelphia on Saturday.
Gundstrom was part of the return in the trade that sent Ryan Ellis’ contract to San Jose. He has since been in Lehigh Valley, where he has three goals and three assists in 11 games in the AHL. With Tyson Foerster still out of the lineup, Gundstrom has been called up. Foerster is trending for a Wednesday return, so this may be his chance for an NHL game – something he did 56 times last season.
The Flyers and Senators faced off earlier this season in Ottawa.
Tyson Foerster, who remains out for Saturday’s game, scored within the first 30 seconds of that game. However, that would be all the offense the Flyers would get.
Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark settled in and dominated the Flyers. Michael Amadio scored the equalizer for Ottawa, but it was former Flyer Olle Lycksell who scored the game-winner.
Will the Flyers have better luck on Saturday?
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+ (stream)
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The puck drop is at 1:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena
Read More: Flyers Analysis: Despite a Season Low in Ice Time, Michkov Looks Poised for his Breakout
Flyers Sweep Their Roadtrip, Beat the Predators 3-1 Thursday Night
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