After their initial road trip and homestand, the Philadelphia Flyers (3-1-0) visit the Dallas Stars (2-0-1) at the American Airlines Center.
Both teams enter tonight’s game fresh off of a victory. The Flyers shut down Connor McDavid in a 4-1 rout of the Edmonton Oilers. On Thursday, the Stars held off the Anaheim Ducks, 3-2.
Dallas outscored Philadelphia, 9-2, to secure the season sweep in 2022-2023. Sam Ersson and Scott Wedgewood make their season debuts.
Dallas Stars
Everything didn’t look smooth for the Stars in a 3-2 win in Anaheim, but those hiccups will be chalked up to early-season kinks. Tonight, the Flyers fit a similar profile, and Pete DeBoer is onto it.
“They’re [the Flyers] hard, heavy, on their toes, [with] lots of pressure all over the ice. Anaheim, I saw a similar game out of the other night; similar scouting report. You’ve got to be prepared to play and compete; dig in. These teams have come out with a lot of belief after long summers, and they’re out to prove something. We’ve got to be prepared for that.”
Pete DeBoer; 10/21/2023
Wyatt Johnston made the NHL All-Rookie Team in 2022-2023. Johnston will feature in the top six with Jamie Benn and Evgeni Dadonov. DeBoer wants Johnston to expand his role with the Stars, mixing him with the penalty kill that went 4/4 against the Ducks.
“It’s always been something that I’ve done throughout my life of playing hockey. It’s just more about learning a new system.”
Wyatt Johnston; 10/21/2023
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Dallas Stars, per Saad Yousuf:
Robertson-Hintz-Pavelski
Benn-Johnston-Dadonov
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Dellandrea-Faksa-Smith
Suter-Heiskanen
Harley-Hakanpaa
Lindell-Lundkvist
Wedgewood
(Oettinger)
Philadelphia Flyers
John Tortorella doesn’t need to wrestle with who should be in the lineup on defense. Marc Staal (upper-body; 4-6 weeks) and Rasmus Ristolainen (undisclosed; day-to-day) aren’t available. Instead, he’ll put Yegor Zamula and Emil Andrae into the same lineup. If Zamula and Andrae pass their audition, they’ll see a massive uptick in ice time while Staal is out, and it’ll go a long way toward earning a more stable role simultaneously.
“They’re [Zamula and Andrae] going to be in the fire here tonight, and the next game, that’s for sure. Two pretty good teams. This is what we’re doing it for. I don’t think any of the kids are intimidated by the league.”
John Tortorella; 10/21/2023
Cam Atkinson highly concentrated his focus on taking quality shots on goal versus the Oilers. In sync with Owen Tippett, the tandem was chiefly responsible for two scoring plays, including the game-winner by Atkinson.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Tippett-Couturier-Atkinson
Konecny-Laughton-Foerster
Farabee-Cates-Brink
Deslauriers-Poehling-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Zamula-Walker
Andrae-Seeler
Ersson
(Sandstrom)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings)
Philadelphia Flyers (+210)
Dallas Stars (-258)
Cam Atkinson over .5pts (+130)
Wyatt Johnston over 2.5 SOG (+114)
Game Information
You can watch the Flyers battle the Stars in Dallas on NBC Sports Philadelphia. The radio broadcast can be heard on 97.5 the Fanatic and Flyers Radio 24/7. The puck drops at 8pm.
(Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)
