The Philadelphia Flyers third day at training camp offered potential hints at the lineup on opening night. We unpack day three observations.
For the first time since the start of training camp, the two groups are decisively split. “Group A” almost exclusively consists of Philadelphia Flyers roster members. “Group B” consists of mostly the taxi squad, Lehigh Valley Phantoms members, and prospects. Could today give a preview of a potential opening night roster? The lines on day three are interesting!
Group A
Forwards: Konecny, Raffl, Hayes, Couturier, Patrick, Laughton, Lindblom, van Riemsdyk, Giroux, Aube-Kubel, Voracek, Farabee
Defensemen: Myers, Sanheim, Hagg, Provorov, Gostisbehere, Zamula, Gustafsson, Braun
Goaltenders: Elliott, Hart
Group B
Forwards: Andreoff, Sandin, Frost, Foerster, Morin, Allison, Wisdom, Willman, Twarynski, Bunnaman
Defensemen: Bigras, Wotherspoon, Prosser, Pouliot, Friedman, Wylie
Goaltenders: Sandstrom, Lyon, Ross
Unfit to Play
Laczynski (core-muscle surgery)
Ustimenko (labrum surgery)
Ratcliffe (fractured rib)
Unpacking Group Separation
The forwards in “Group A” consist of the usual suspects. During camp, the battle to focus on was between Nolan Patrick and Morgan Frost. Speculation would denote that Patrick will get the nod over Frost on opening night. Frost would likely be on the taxi squad this season, meaning he’ll see valuable playing time anyway. Both have had a good three days of camp.
On defense, the surprise may be Egor Zamula in “Group A” with Mark Friedman in “Group B.” A lot of the same explanation between these two as Patrick and Frost. Zamula saw his first action with the Flyers during the postseason exhibition against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Friedman is the only one of the two to play valuable NHL minutes. Considering the players available on the main roster, both players will likely travel on the taxi squad.
Flyers’ Potential Opening Night Lineup?
Here’s how the day three “Group A” forward lines looked:
Giroux, Hayes, Farabee
Lindblom, Couturier, Konecny
van Riemsdyk, Patrick, Voracek
Raffl, Laughton, Aube-Kubel
No matter the way you slice it, that is a dangerous lineup of forwards. Philadelphia has quality depth, driving home their identity to be one of the deepest teams in the NHL. Of course, the way the lines presented will not be the actual lineup versus the Penguins on January 13th. If these twelve forwards make up the forwards on opening night, expect a powder keg of firepower.
Here’s how the day three “Group A” defensive pairs looked:
Provorov-Gostisbehere
Sanheim-Myers
Hagg-Gustafsson
Zamula-Braun
Alain Vigneault meant it when he said he gave Shayne Gostisbehere a “clean slate.” The Flyers are taking another look at Gostisbehere on day three, pairing him with Ivan Provorov. Before Philippe Myers received his extension, I was an advocate for Gostisbehere alongside Provorov. Myers (who was dominant in today’s scrimmage) will likely be on the top pairing with Provorov, but this puts confidence in Gostisbehere. Perhaps Philadelphia has a place for him and Gustafsson after all.
Curiosity piqued about Justin Braun. He was a staple on the Flyers’ third pair in 2019-2020. If we are to stretch the truth out of these pairings today, could Braun be on the taxi squad with Zamula? If so, that pushes Friedman a little further down the totem pole.
Patrick Takes a Hit
In hockey, this is inevitable. Patrick took a shot after Samuel Morin put a body on Max Willman. He skated to the bench after taking his helmet off. A couple of days after being cleared for contact, this is a test. Patrick didn’t miss his next shift.
From the looks of what happened, this was Patrick going through all of his own protocol. When a player takes a hit after being out for so long, they run through a checklist in their head. While on the bench, between shifts, Patrick seemed like he calibrated everything that happened and was okay to keep going. Players, coaches, and fans can be more confident now in him recovering after taking a hit.
Flyers Scrimmage Standouts
I love seeing prospects thrive. Today, Tyson Foerster got in on the scoring, getting on the board first with a deflection goal. In the past two days, Philadelphia’s draft class has been looking neat. Yesterday, Zayde Wisdom looked impressive. We love to see the young prospects make noise in training camp.
Another “Group B” player put his name on the scoring sheet in the scrimmage. Andy Andreoff scored on a penalty shot against Brian Elliott. He beat Elliott through the five-hole. In the scrimmages, instead of serving in the penalty box, they settle with a penalty shot. That’s an exciting way to handle scrimmages while instilling discipline.
For those who were worried about how Oskar Lindblom would bounce back after finishing his treatments, he sent a rocket to the back of the net today. Lindblom, on a sharp angle, slapped the go-ahead goal of the scrimmage. It’s been his best day of training camp. He and Travis Konecny are beginning to get back on the same page they were in 2019-2020. Lindblom beat Carter Hart on the glove side with the slapshot.
Linus Sandin is pushing for a spot with the Flyers in 2020-2021. He found the back of the net today off a pass from James van Riemsdyk. Sandin finds his groove with tip-in goals and deflections. As long as he continues to crash the net, Sandin could find himself playing valuable minutes.
Capping off day three, Joel Farabee potted an empty-net goal to give Orange a 4-2 win over Black. He and Claude Giroux had a great day at training camp. Both were buzzing in drills, looking sharp. Finishing off the scrimmage with a goal was poetic.
Mandatory Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre
