On Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers were blanked by the Carolina Hurricanes. Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-winner, an early powerplay goal, in the first period before Felix Sandstrom recovered between the pipes for the remainder of the game.
The offense continues to struggle, evident by the shutout. Taking on some of the best teams in the NHL, the Flyers aren’t able to keep with the pace and make enough plays.
“We don’t make enough plays, we haven’t made enough plays, and we probably won’t the rest of the year.”
John Tortorella; 3/9/2023
Today, the Flyers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time this season. In the first meeting on November 25th, 2022, the Penguins defeated the Flyers, 4-1, at the Wells Fargo Center. A victory would tie the season series with a final meeting in Pittsburgh on April 3rd, 2023.
Pittsburgh Penguins (32-22-10)
Owners of the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, the Penguins trail the New York Islanders by two points. Each point matters during the final stretch of the season for Pittsburgh. It could be the difference between realizing playoff hopes, or not.
On Thursday, the Penguins blew a 3-1 lead, losing to the Islanders 4-3 in overtime. Pittsburgh controlled the game until the final minutes. Had they won in regulation, holding onto the lead, the Penguins would’ve passed the Islanders for the first wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.
On Black Friday, against the Flyers, Sidney Crosby (28G, 49A) scored. In his career against the Flyers, Crosby has 121 points (52G, 69A) in 82 games. Crosby leads Pittsburgh in scoring, ten points ahead of Evgeni Malkin.
Pittsburgh acquired Mikael Granlund (9G, 27A) at the trade deadline. He didn’t record a point in his first three games, but he does strengthen a Penguins lineup that had some struggles throughout 2022-2023.
Here’s the projected lineup for the Pittsburgh Penguins:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell
Zucker-Malkin-Rust
O’Connor-Granlund-Carter
Heinen-Bonino-Archibald
Pettersson-Letang
Dumoulin-Petry
Kulikov-Rutta
Jarry
(DeSmith)
Philadelphia Flyers (24-30-11)
Yesterday, Chuck Fletcher was fired as the general manager. The ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ will kick off the Daniel Briere era as the interim general manager.
Tyson Foerster made his NHL debut on Thursday. He started on the second line and received powerplay time. Tortorella praised Foerster following the game:
“Played very well. I thought he was one of the better plays with the puck; with poise with the puck. So that, his first game, against a top team like this, it’s encouraging. I thought he was one of our better players offensively.”
John Tortorella; 3/9/2023
Following an incredible showing by Sandstrom, Carter Hart (17-20-10, 2.94GAA, 90.7%SV) will start in the crease. In eleven games played against the Penguins, Hart is 4-4-2 with a 3.4GAA and 89.6%SV.
Here’s the projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Farabee-Frost-Tippett
Laughton-Cates-Foerster
van Riemsdyk-Desnoyers-Hayes
Deslauriers-Laczynski-Bellows
Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Seeler-Braun
Hart
(Sandstrom)
Place Your Bets
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+220)
Pittsburgh Penguins moneyline (-260)
Sidney Crosby anytime goalscorer (+125)
Tyson Foerester over 0.5 powerplay points (+700)
Game Information
You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on ABC. The radio broadcast is available on 97.5 The Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7. The puck drops at 3:30 pm at the PPG Paints Arena.
(Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)
