Four days ago, the Philadelphia Flyers struggled to maintain their structure versus the Seattle Kraken at the Wells Fargo Center, losing 4-3.
Tonight, the Flyers begin a four-game road trip against the Kraken. In order to get back into the win column, John Tortorella stressed structure. When these two teams met on Super Bowl Sunday, Tortorella was not happy with the team’s performance:
“We have the break, play a couple of games, and as we went through our homestand, I just felt our structure fell apart. Yesterday’s practice is mostly on [the] offensive and defensive structure.”
John Tortorella; 2/16/2023
Philadelphia scored three times on eighteen shots, but Seattle capitalized on each mistake. The Kraken is third in the Pacific Division and the Flyers are seventh in the Metropolitan Division. Will Philadelphia split the season series?
Seattle Kraken (30-18-6)
Seattle did play between tonight and their recent victory over the Flyers. Two nights ago, the Kraken lost in a shootout to the Winnipeg Jets.
Jordan Eberle (11G, 29A) had three shots on goal versus the Jets. He didn’t record a point but was good for two points (1G, 1A) against Philadelphia. Active with the puck, he’ll continue to take advantage of any structural collapse by the Flyers away from the puck.
Matthew Beniers (17G, 19A) didn’t record a point against Philadelphia or Winnipeg. His turnover in the third period allowed the Jets to tie the game on a Pierre-Luc DuBois goal. Beniers, along the boards, is at a disadvantage versus the Flyers’ physical fourth line and defense.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Seattle Kraken:
McCann-Beniers-Eberle
Schwartz-Wennberg-Tanev
Tolvanen-Gourde-Bjorkstrand
Donato-Geekie-Hayden
Dunn-Larsson
Oleksiak-Borgen
Soucy-Schultz
Grubauer
(Jones)
Philadelphia Flyers (22-23-10)
Philadelphia is 3-4-3 in their last ten games, and securing points on the road in each chance; 2-0-1. They’re also tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals (10) after Patrick Brown notched the latest versus the Kraken on Sunday. Only fourteen road games remain in the 2022-2023 season as the Flyers seek to improve their away record.
Travis Konecny (24G, 25A) is eight games without a point, and thirteen without scoring a goal. His play away from the puck is his strength as of late, but Philadelphia needs a helping hand with scoring. Here’s hoping he gets back into the stat sheet.
Kevin Hayes (17G, 30A) has the hot hand. In two of the last three games, he potted a goal. Routinely finding chances, Hayes likely chips in on a scoring play to get the Flyers going on offense.
Rasmus Ristolainen (+2, 108HIT, 29GV, 41%CF) helped crack Seattle on special teams. He had two assists, one on the powerplay goal by Owen Tippett, and the other on the shorthanded goal by Brown. Ristolainen also made his presence known to Beniers in the neutral zone and along the boards.
“Everyone wants to play on the powerplay. [I] just worked my game with my chance and it was fun to get out there last game, and it worked out pretty well.”
Rasmus Ristolainen; 2/16/2023
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, per Olivia Reiner:
Hayes-Cates-Tippett
van Riemsdyk-Frost-Konecny
Farabee-Laughton-Allison
Deslauriers-Brown-Bellows
Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Seeler-DeAngelo
Hart
(Ersson)
Place Your Bets
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+165)
Seattle Kraken moneyline (-195)
Travis Konecny anytime goal (+150)
Kevin Hayes o.5pts (-140)
Rasmus Ristolainen o1.5 blocked shots (-175)
Game Information
You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Seattle Kraken on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast is available on 97.5 the Fanatic. The puck drops at 10pm.
(Photo by Rob Curtis/Icon Sportswire)
