The Philadelphia Flyers began their 2023-2024 season on the road. They jumped ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets but were cut down to size by the Ottawa Senators.
They’ll bring a 1-1-0 record to the Wells Fargo Center. ‘A New Era of Orange’ needs to start with a bang on home ice during the ‘Red October’ hysteria across the street. John Tortorella aims to coach his lineup to victory versus the Vancouver Canucks.
Last season, the Flyers were 1-1-0 versus the Canucks.
Vancouver Canucks
Currently, the Canucks are 2-0-0. Building on the positives, Vancouver is proud of their season start but notes there are certain parts of the game to tidy.
“It’s a John Tortorella team. They’re going to work their butts off. I have to be honest, they got good forwards. I don’t know if he says that, but this are going to be last; I don’t see that. I’m being honest, they got really good forwards. Konecny is one of the best players in the league. Playing against us last year, he was all over us. I remember that game. They got some good players and I like what they’re doing.”
Rick Tocchet; 10/16/2023
Elias Pettersson is on fire. He was the NHL Second Star of the Week with six points (1G, 5A) in two games. Pettersson, in his last game against the Flyers, tallied five points (2G, 3A) en route to a 6-2 win.
“It’s a big honor, but then we start again. What means more? It’s a great accomplishment for this week. I’m more happy to win.”
Elias Pettersson; 10/16/2023
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Vancouver Canucks:
Kuzmenko-Pettersson-Garland
Di Giuseppe-Miller-Boeser
Joshua-Suter-Beauvillier
Hoglander-Lafferty-Studnicka
Hughes-Hronek
Cole-Myers
Soucy-Juulsen
Demko
(DeSmith)
Philadelphia Flyers
In Ottawa, Tortorella wasn’t happy with any sort of execution. Carter Hart kept the Flyers close until the penalty kill collapsed all hope of a comeback.
Travis Sanheim, now a RD, is overcoming the nuances that come with playing on his off side. He added an assist on a five-on-three powerplay; poised and passing to Tyson Foerster for an open shooting lane before Travis Konecny scored on the rebound. His defensive partner from 2022-2023, Rasmus Ristolainen, skated again yesterday, but did not practice after missing the first two games this season.
“Spent a lot of time in the offseason working on it. I didn’t know I was going to be on the right side; [I’m] fortunate that they did a lot of work on that. I feel comfortable over there especially in the o-zone [offensive zone].”
Travis Sanheim; 10/16/2023
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Farabee-Foerster-Brink
Tippett-Frost-Atkinson
Laughton-Cates-Konecny
Deslauriers-Poehling-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Staal-Walker
Zamula-Seeler
Hart
(Ersson)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings)
Vancouver Canucks (-135)
Philadelphia Flyers (+114)
Elias Pettersson over .5pts (-245)
Game Information
You can watch the Flyers host the Canucks at the Wells Fargo Center, hoping to win their home opener, at 6pm on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast will air on 97.5 the Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7.
(AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
