After what some would call a “gritty” win Thursday night, the Flyers were right back at it this morning as they hit the ice for practice in Voorhees. It was somewhat of a short practice as guys started to head off the ice about a half hour after practice got underway but that’s understandable. After all, they do have a back to back Saturday and Sunday. Here are the lines from practice this morning:
1st Line: JVR-Weal-Konecny
2nd Line: Simmonds-Lehtera-Voracek
3rd Line: Laughton-Patrick-Raffl
4th Line: Lindblom-Varone-Weise
Now everyone needs to remain calm. Couturier and Giroux both had maintenance days today as they were not on the ice. Both will be available for tomorrow afternoons game vs. CBJ.
The Flyers had a basic practice this morning. Some line rushes and a few basic drills here and there. However, I did get to talk to a few guys after practice today about there play of late and there back to back coming up.
I reached out to Scott Laughton and asked him if the PK changed structurally and he had this to say: “Yeah, we changed a little bit. I thought we were good. The past couple of games we’ve been putting pressure on them and making it harder for them to enter the zone and things like that and making it hard for them to get set up. I think once they set up, your kind of in trouble.”
In case you didn’t know, the Flyers did a heck of job last night on the PK. They went six for six and guys were not afraid to sacrifice there bodies. Its definitely a start for the Flyers PK that has struggled so much this year.
Blocked shots is such a big part of the game these days. Its huge to allow the goalie to settle in. You don’t want to overwhelm him especially when you have a 20 year old goalie named Carter Hart in net. One of the biggest factors last night when it came to shot blocking was Robert Hagg. He blocked a total of five shots. Hagg had this to say when being asked about how big it is to block shots for your goaltender. He responded, “Yeah of course, if you block the shots going toward the net, there’s less of a chance its going to go in. It helps him (Hart) to. He’s a younger kid coming up and he’s been tremendous these past two games.”
I know you’re all waiting to hear about Carter hart. I can confirm, per Gordon, that Carter Hart will get the start between the pipes tomorrow afternoon. When asked how he felt and if he could go tomorrow he had this to say: “For sure, yeah I feel good. We have the rest of the day today now to recover and prepare for tomorrow”. That’s no doubt exciting to hear that Hart isn’t fatigue.
On another note, Jori Lehtera was out on the ice for practice today but never came into the locker room to get changed. He was available according to Head Coach Scott Gordon.
Both Jordan Weal and Lehtera filled in for Giroux and Couturier on the line rushes. It is believed that both will be healthy scratches for tomorrow afternoons game.
Next up for the Flyers is a matchup with the Blue Jackets tomorrow afternoon as they hope to win three in a row for the first time since November 5th through November 10th. Puck Drop is a little after 1PM. As always, Let’s Go Flyers!
Mandatory Photo Credit: Alex Mclntyre
