Flyers at Canucks: Preview, Odds, How to Watch

In defeat, the Philadelphia Flyers (18-11-4) were nothing short of electric in their comeback attempt against the Detroit Red Wings.

John Tortorella praised Carter Hart for the way he finished. He did acknowledge his struggle in his return to the lineup after battling an illness.

“Up and down, all over the place. He [Hart] made some great saves at the end, though.”
John Tortorella; 12/22/2023

Tonight, the Vancouver Canucks (23-9-3) host. Hart, in a team effort, shut them out on October 17th. Sam Ersson hopes to contribute to the sweep of the leaders of the Pacific Division at Rogers Arena.

Vancouver Canucks

Rick Tocchet never underestimated the Flyers for a moment. Previously, he spoke highly of their forwards and knows how a team coached by Tortorella operates. Namely, Tocchet pointed out Travis Konecny, singling out his game for checking and being a general pest.

Tocchet is challenging the work ethic of his lineup to set the tone and make a Tortorella team match them.

“Philly, they work hard. But I told our players today, ‘We work hard, too.’ As a coach, you warn your team so many times. They’re a hard-working team. So are we. We have to match their work ethic, and maybe they have to match ours. That’s the way I look at it tonight.”
Rick Tocchet; 12/28/2023

Quinn Hughes capped the recent win versus the San Jose Sharks with two points (1G, 1A). He took four shots on goal in Philadelphia in October but didn’t have a banner evening regarding puck security. Hughes will look to generate rebound opportunities on Ersson, especially on the powerplay.

“[We] played them [the Philadelphia Flyers] earlier in the year, I thought they were really hard to play against. Obviously, [we] came up short that game. I think we lost two-nothing. They’re a team that’s really good; they work hard, they’re going to bring it every night, and we got to be ready.”
Quinn Hughes; 12/28/2023

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Vancouver Canucks, by Brendan Batchelor:

Mikheyev-Pettersson-Kuzmenko
Hoglander-Miller-Boeser
Joshua-Blueger-Garland
Aman-Suter-Lafferty

Hughes-Hronek
Zadorov-Myers
Cole-Juulsen

DeSmith
(Demko)

Philadelphia Flyers

Tortorella recalled his time as an assistant coach from 1997-1999 with the, at the time, Phoenix Coyotes. He helped coach Tocchet:

“I remember when we were in the middle of a playoff series in Arizona, and I won’t say the player, but we’re meeting with lines, Toc [Tocchet] was the right wing on a line, and he wanted to strangle a player on that line. Me, Shoney [Schoenfeld], and the line were sitting down, talking, and I remember Toc’s intensity because he didn’t think that player was giving enough. I’ll never forget that. I thought he was going to kill him. That’s what I’ve always loved about Toc; that intensity, that will.”
John Tortorella; 12/28/2023

After that recollection from Tortorella, it’s fitting to hear Tocchet challenge the work ethic of his lineup to set the tone. When Tortorella and Tocchet go head-to-head, expect profound checking throughout the rushes.

Morgan Frost deflected a shot on goal by Travis Sanheim en route to forcing a shootout against the Red Wings. He was not in the lineup earlier this season versus the Canucks. Frost is generating good scoring chances, converting opportunities in consecutive games.

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, via Jackie Spiegel:

Tippett-Couturier-Konecny
Foerster-Frost-Atkinson
Farabee-Poehling-Brink
Deslauriers-Laughton-Hathaway

York-Sanheim
Seeler-Walker
Zamula-Ristolainen

Ersson
(Hart)