The Philadelphia Flyers (13-10-2) are coming off of back-to-back wins — one in a shootout and the other in overtime — against the division-rival Pittsburgh Penguins. The team has become accustomed to playing in close games that extend past regulation as four of their past five wins have come in such fashion.
The Flyers embark on a three-game road trip beginning on Thursday night in the desert to take on the Arizona Coyotes (13-9-2). Both teams enter Thursday’s game with 28 points in their respective conferences. The Coyotes enter the contest winners of five straight. The Flyers will have their work cut out for them as they begin their trip out west.
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Philadelphia Flyers (-110)
Arizona Coyotes (-110)
Tyson Foerster over .5pt (+105)
Logan Cooley over .5pt (-120)
Where to watch
When: Thursday, December 7th at 9pm
Where: Mullett Arena
How: The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia and 97.5 the Fanatic (FM) will carry the radio broadcast.
Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes are coming off of a 6-0 shutout victory against the Washington Capitals. They currently sit in fourth place in the Western Division as a result of a recent hot streak. The fans in Arizona have taken notice and the players are feeling that. Goalie Connor Ingram spoke on the vibes at Mullett Arena following Monday night’s win:
“The whole building has a different feel right now. When you get on a streak like this, this is what people want to see around here. It’s fun to play here right now, the people are into it, and that’s why you play the game.”
Connor Ingram 12/5/2023
In their last five games, the Coyotes have defeated the last five Stanley Cup champions in consecutive contests. It is not like Arizona is on a winning streak against mediocre teams. They are beating talented teams and the Flyers will look to stop their current streak.
The Flyers will have their hands full if they go down a man, despite having sixth most effective penalty killing unit in hockey. The Coyotes power play ranks fifth in the NHL. They will look to extend their win streak to six games.
Here is the tentative lineup for the Coyotes:
Keller-Cooley-Schmaltz
Maccelli-Bjugstad-Crouse
Carcone-Kerfoot-Zucker
Kelemen-O’Brien
Moser-Durzi
Dumba-Brown
Stecher-Kesselring
Ingram
(Vejmelka)
Philadelphia Flyers
A big reason for the Flyers’ recent victories has been Tyson Foerster. The winger has scored four goals in his last three games including one in Monday night’s victory against the Penguins. Sean Couturier spoke about his line mate’s recent success after the shootout win:
“Those kind of scorers, once they get one, it just unblocks everything else. You can see the confidence he has had for the last week or two. It’s nice to see him grow because he’s a big part of our team.”
Sean Couturier 12/4/2023
The Flyers goaltending has been a major strength for the team recently. Sam Ersson had a fantastic month of November after a rough start to the season. Carter Hart has played well and has made some incredible, timely saves in recent games. In Monday night’s overtime win against the Penguins, Hart recorded 31 saves.
One of the biggest bright spots for the Flyers has been the penalty kill unit. As of Thursday, the team is killing 85.4 percent of their opponent’s power plays. This unit has kept the Flyers in close games and has helped make up for a lackluster power play unit up until this point. The penalty-killing lines will have to be sharp facing a tough Coyotes power play group.
Here is how the Flyers’ lineup tentatively looks:
Foerster-Couturier-Konecny
Farabee-Laughton-Atkinson
Tippett-Frost-Brink
Deslauriers-Poehling-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Seeler-Walker
Zamula-Ristolainen
Hart
(Ersson)
AP Photo/Matt Slocum
