Unstoppable would be the word to describe the Philadelphia Flyers (24-14-6) on the recent three-game road trip. They swept the opposition, 3-0-0, including a shutout win against the Winnipeg Jets, who remain at the top of the NHL standings.
While doing so, the Flyers cracked into the top ten teams in the NHL. Consistency is paramount, and the lineup consistently plays hard for each other. Everyone is contributing, and Philadelphia is healing, returning to its hockey roots.
John Tortorella sends his troops to defend the home ice tonight versus the Dallas Stars (26-12-5).
Dallas Stars
The Stars ran down the Los Angeles Kings, 5-1, capitalizing on the back half of a back-to-back. Pete DeBoer knows the road trip is as tough as it includes competition earmarked for a postseason push.
“I’m excited to get on the road. It feels like forever that we’ve been on a road trip. I liked our road game most of the year. Hopefully, we come out, and we recognize the importance of finishing strong going into the All-Star Break.”
Pete DeBoer; 1/18/2024
Roope Hintz began the scoring for Dallas versus the Kings. Most of his shot attempts were blocked by defensemen, and Hintz did cough up the puck in the neutral zone, but his assist in the third period began to put Los Angeles in the rearview. Hintz did score against the Flyers in a 5-4 overtime win for the Stars on October 21st. Defensively, Philadelphia has to do a better job stripping away shooting lanes from Hintz and shot blocking is a calling card of a system implemented by Tortorella.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Dallas Stars:
Robertson-Hintz-Johnston
Marchment-Duchene-Seguin
Benn-Steel-Pavelski
Smith-Faksa-Dadonov
Lindell-Hakanpaa
Suter-Lundkvist
Harley-Hanley
Oettinger
(Wedgewood)
Philadelphia Flyers
Tortorella isn’t quick to reveal his lineup. He did confirm Sam Ersson will start, however. A lot of questions are beginning to percolate around the goaltending usage from the Flyers, which Tortorella addressed:
“It’s the month of January, too. We had talked about this; the amount of games we play and the amount of travel we’ve gone through comes into play, but Sam [Ersson] definitely has earned the trust of the coaching staff. It’s not supplanting Carter [Hart], or anything like that. It’s just Sam’s earned our trust. It makes for easier decisions, especially when you’re worried about, I think we play six in nine nights coming up. After all the travel, back-and-forth, east-west, for the first few months; Carter’s been real good [and] Sam’s been really good. It’s a big reason why we’re where were at right now as far as wins and losses. So, they both deserve the net. Sam gets it tonight.”
John Tortorella; 1/18/2024
Nick Seeler is tied with Kaiden Guhle for fifth in the NHL in shots blocked. In a 4-2 victory against the St. Louis Blues, Seeler jammed up eight shots and generated a rebound chance on offense. Philadelphia found ways to score against the Stars on the ‘power kill,’ setting a season-high for shorthanded goals in a game (3). Seeler will be on the second penalty-killing unit with Ryan Poehling, Travis Konecny, and Sean Walker. Konecny scored two shorthanded goals on Dallas, and Walker has one to his credit.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Tippett-Couturier-Konecny
Farabee-Frost-Atkinson
Foerster-Laughton-Hathaway
Cates-Poehling
Sanheim-Drysdale
Seeler-Walker
York-Ristolainen
Zamula
Ersson
(Hart)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings)
Dallas Stars (-135)
Philadelphia Flyers (+114)
Roope Hintz over .5pt (-150)
Rooper Hintz under 2.5SOG (-160)
Nick Seeler anytime goalscorer (+1400)
Nick Seeler under 2.5 shots blocked (-140)
Game Information
Watch the Philadelphia Flyers host the Dallas Stars tonight on NBC Sports Philadelphia at 7pm. The radio broadcast will be available on 97.5 the Fanatic.
(Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)
