Flyers Preview: Attard Makes NHL Debut vs TOR

Flyers' Carter Hart
Flyers’ Carter Hart (Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)

Not that anyone thought they would qualify, but the Philadelphia Flyers missed consecutive postseasons for the first time since 1992-1994. The Minnesota Wild scored four unanswered goals before the third period began. Morgan Frost scored a powerplay goal to avoid the shutout, bringing the final score to 4-1. The Flyers finished 1-4-0 on their road trip before returning home tonight to battle the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With fifteen games remaining, Philadelphia is prepping for 2022-2023. Players will make their NHL debut while battling for a role next season. Keith Yandle will see his NHL Ironman record cease at 989 consecutive games.

Ronnie Attard will make his debut. Kevin Connauton will fill in for Yandle at 3LD, pairing with Attard.

The puck drops at 7pm on Broad Street.

Toronto Maple Leafs (43-19-5; 91pts)

Out of the lineup will be Ondrej Kase (concussion,) Rasmus Sandin (knee,) Jake Muzzin (concussion,) and Petr Mrazek (groin.) Ilya Lyubushkin and Jack Campbell are on schedule to return. Healthy scratches include Kyle Clifford, Jason Spezza, Carl Dahlstrom, and Michael Hutchinson.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Bunting-Matthews-Marner
Mikheyev-Tavares-Kerfoot
Nylander-Kampf-Engvall
Abruzzese-Blackwell-Simmonds

Rielly-Lyubushkin
Brodie-Holl
Giordano-Liljegren

Campbell
(Kallgren)

Campbell (24-9-4, 2.65GAA, 91.4%SV) will start for the Maple Leafs. He recorded an earlier victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in 2021-2022 when Alain Vigneault was the bench boss. Overall, Campbell is 1-2-0 in his career against the Flyers.

William Nylander (26G, 37A) earns the visiting spotlight. Every point he notched in the 7-3 victory against the Winnipeg Jets came from the powerplay. He scored two powerplay goals, finishing his night with an assist on a Timothy Lilijegren score. Toronto has the best powerplay unit in the NHL.

Philadelphia Flyers (21-35-11, 53pts)

Out of the lineup are Ryan Ellis (lower body,) Sean Couturier (back,) Travis Konecny (illness,) and Scott Laughton (concussion.) Healthy scratches include Yandle and Nick Seeler.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:

Cates, N-Farabee-Atkinson
Lindblom-Hayes-Hodgson
van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett
Thompson-Brown-MacEwen

Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Connauton-Attard

Hart
(Jones)

Carter Hart (13-21-7, 3.04GAA, 90.9%SV) will start for the Flyers. He went head-to-head with Campbell in the earlier loss this season. Overall, Hart is 2-1-0 in his career versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Attard makes his NHL debut. He’ll do so alongside Connauton, not Yandle. Yes, the ironman streak stops at 989 consecutive NHL games. The focus is on Attard, who could make an impression before 2022-2023. He could help the 3RD role behind Rasmus Ristolainen and Ellis for the foreseeable future.

Props/Prediction

TOR moneyline (-295)
William Nylander anytime score (+180)
Correct Score Prediction (+2200): Flyers 3, Maple Leafs 5

(Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)