Don’t look now! The Philadelphia Flyers are only six points out of the second wildcard position in the Eastern Conference.
Still seventh in the Metropolitan Division, the Flyers are 7-3-0 in their last ten games, including a few wins against playoff-bound opponents. In that stretch, the Washington Capitals fell twice in a home-and-home series, and the Los Angeles Kings surrendered their castle. However, three losses came at the hands of playoff-bound opponents, too. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes represent franchises out of reach.
In the middle of the hottest run in 2022-2023, Philadelphia takes on the best team in the NHL: the Boston Bruins.
Is the 7-3-0 run the beginning of a magical journey for the Flyers? Are they simply beating the teams they should? They’ll hope to prove they can hang with the best, proving critics wrong on a Monday afternoon.
Boston Bruins (33-5-4)
Earlier this season, the Bruins defeated Philadelphia 4-1. In their last ten games, Boston is 7-1-2.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Bruins:
Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak
Hall-Krejci-Smith
Zacha-Coyle-Frederic
Foligno-Nosek-Greer
Grzelcyk-McAvoy
Lindholm-Carlo
Forbort-Clifton
Swayman
(Ullmark)
Taylor Hall (13G, 17A) had the primary helper on the game-winner two nights ago. Hall searched for the one-timer, but Matt Grzelcyk slapped the rebound to defeat the Maple Leafs, 4-3. He’s pacing similarly to his 2021-2022 point production in the Boston top six. In his career against the Flyers, Hall has 33 points, including an assist on November 17th, 2022.
Charlie McAvoy (+13, 52BLK, 21GV, 55.5%CF) blocked and took three shots two nights ago. He played a steady game, but on the scoreboard, it was a tripping penalty in the first period that allowed Michael Bunting to put Toronto ahead on the powerplay. Similarly to Hall, McAvoy had an assist in the last tilt versus the Flyers.
Philadelphia Flyers (18-18-7)
In the last week, Philadelphia is 3-1-0. Those include two victories over the Capitals, a loss to the Maple Leafs with Carter Hart between the pipes, and a shutout over the Buffalo Sabres by Samuel Ersson.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Flyers:
van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett
Farabee-Cates, N-Konecny
Hayes-Laughton-Allison
Deslauriers-Brown-MacEwen
Provorov-York
Sanheim-DeAngelo
Seeler-Ristolainen
Hart
(Ersson)
James van Riemsdyk (7G, 11A) is playing well on the same line with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett. He has three points (2G, 1A) in the last five games, including a beauty set up by Tippett to complete the home-and-home against Washington. In his career, he has 37 points against the Bruins. Earlier this season, van Riemsdyk didn’t step on the ice in Boston. He was recovering from a broken finger suffered during a shutout loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Place Your Bets
Flyers moneyline (+240)
Bruins moneyline (-285)
Taylor Hall o.5pts (-125)
James van Riemsdyk o.5pts (+130)
Game Information
You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Boston Bruins at 1pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 the Fanatic.
(Photo Credit/Alex McIntyre)
