Flyers Preview: Philadelphia Goes for the Sweep in Nashville

Flyers' Ivan Provorov
Flyers’ Ivan Provorov (Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)

Against the Colorado Avalanche, the Philadelphia Flyers received a swift reminder of where they stand in terms of parity within the NHL.

While the Flyers capitalized on a few scoring chances, they ultimately lost, 6-3. A few pucks took some unfortunate bounces, deflecting past Carter Hart. Perfection, or something close to it, was the request. What happened was the latest interpretation of Murphy’s Law.

Tonight, the faceoff drops at 6pm from Music City, USA. Notably, Claude Giroux played his one-thousandth game versus the Nashville Predators. Philadelphia earned the victory in front of the home crowd honoring Giroux, 5-4.

Nashville Predators (37-24-4; 78pts)

Matthew Benning (undisclosed,) Dante Fabbro (upper-body,) and Mark Borowiecki (undisclosed) remain out of the lineup. Tanner Jeannot may return to the lineup; his wife gave birth to their first child before the Nashville Predators took on the Vegas Golden Knights.

Projected lineup for the Predators:

Forsberg-Johansen-Duchene
Tolvanen-Granlund-Kunin
Trenin-Sissons-Jeannot
Cousins-McCarron-Tomasino

Josi-Carrier
Ekholm-Lauzon
Harpur-Tennyson

Saros
(Rittich)

Starting goaltenders, at the time of this writing, are unconfirmed. Juuse Saros faced the Philadelphia Flyers most recently, taking the loss in regulation. It would be the first time David Rittich faces the Flyers this season if he does start, a team he’s undefeated against in his career (4-0-0.)

Nick Cousins (7G, 11A) gets the opposing spotlight. A pick from the Paul Holmgren era, he began his career in Philadelphia. Ron Hextall packaged Cousins with Merrick Madsen to the Arizona Coyotes for Brendan Warren and a 2018 fifth-round pick. Cousins improved upon his best season with the Flyers while applying what he learned on Broad Street in a recent fight with Mattias Janmark.

Philadelphia Flyers (21-33-11; 53pts)

Nate Thompson (shoulder) and Scott Laughton (concussion) are out of the lineup. Travis Konecny returns to the lineup.

Projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:

van Riemsdyk-Farabee-Atkinson
Lindblom-Hayes-Konecny
Willman-Frost-Tippett
Hodgson-Brown-MacEwen

Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Yandle-Seeler

Jones
(Hart)

Martin Jones (8-12-3, 3.3GAA, 90.3%SV) is 5-8-2 in his career against the Predators. It’ll be the first time he faces Nashville this season. He’s been solid lately, especially in a win against the St. Louis Blues.

Ivan Provorov (47%CF, 126BLK, 70GV, -8) gets the spotlight. Lately, he’s playing better hockey. Provorov and Cam York are beginning to mesh, a beautiful silver lining discovered in a lost season. Away from the powerplay, Provorov is concentrating on improving defensively. Lessening the workload for Provorov, in theory, limits his turnovers.

Props/Predictions

PHI Flyers @ NSH Predators Hockey Betting Odds & Lines | DraftKings Sportsbook

Ivan Provorov anytime score (+600)
Nick Cousins anytime score (+340)
Nashville money line (-285)

Correct Score Prediction: Flyers 3, Predators 4 OT (+1200)

(Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)