A lot happened since the last time the Philadelphia Flyers (32-23-8) hosted the St. Louis Blues.
Daniel Briere traded Sean Walker, extended Nick Seeler, and two defensemen will make their 2023-2024 NHL debut. Ronnie Attard is expected to enter the lineup after Walker moved to the Colorado Avalanche. Adam Ginning will replace Seeler (undisclosed) after he blocked three shots versus St. Louis.
“Danny [Briere] and Lappy [Laperriere] talked about it. They felt he [Ginning] was the one next to go. I really don’t get too involved in the conversations. Lappy and I don’t talk a lot because we’re just both busy with our teams, but when Danny said we’re going to bring one up, I said you make the call. You and Lappy decide who it is. If he does play; anxious to see him play. Just like Attard. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but those were the guys that were given to us from Lappy and Danny.”
John Tortorella; 3/7/2024
Tonight is the second of three clashes between the Flyers and the Florida Panthers (43-16-4). In the first showdown, Philadelphia won. Noah Cates scored the game-winner, 2-1, with 17:24 remaining in regulation. John Tortorella is looking to take the season series from Florida, standing atop the NHL ranks.
Florida Panthers
In their last five games, the Panthers are 5-0-0. On Tuesday, they defeated the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center, 5-3. Now, Vladimir Tarasenko joins the mix after the Ottawa Senators traded him yesterday for a conditional 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round pick.
“It’s the thing I don’t know. I know what Verhaeghe looks [like] there, I know what Rodrigues looks like there, but what we don’t know is what Vlad [Tarasenko] looks like there, and there’s the language connection with Barkov.”
Paul Maurice; 3/7/2024
Carter Verhaeghe slides down to the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. In his last five games, Verhaeghe added four assists. He did score the lone goal, on the powerplay, versus the Flyers but committed three turnovers in the second half of the game. Currently, Philadelphia possesses the best penalty-killing unit in the NHL but will need to figure out a sustaining method without Seeler and Walker on the top unit.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Florida Panthers, per Jameson Olive:
Tarasenko-Barkov-Reinhart
Verhaeghe-Bennett-Tkachuk
Luostarinen-Lundell-Rodrigues
Cousins-Stenlund-Lomberg
Forsling-Ekblad
Mikkola-Montour
Ekman Larsson-Kulikov
Bobrovsky
(Stolarz)
Philadelphia Flyers
In their last five games, the Flyers are 2-2-1. They’ve earned points in consecutive games, but two more tonight against the best team in the NHL comes with a boatload of confidence.
Tyson Foerster will be on the second line across from Joel Farabee. Foerster, in his last five games, notched six points (5G, 1A) with two multi-point outings (at PIT and vs. OTT). Previously, Florida did a great job mitigating the impact Foerster had during the game, but he protects the puck incredibly well. Tortorella will continue to lean on his steady play while hoping that he continues to light the lamp.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Tippett-Frost-Konecny
Farabee-Laughton-Foerster
Cates-Poehling-Hathaway
Deslauriers-Couturier-Atkinson
York-Sanheim
Staal-Zamula
Ginning-Attard
Ersson
(Sandstrom)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings Sportsbook)
Philadelphia Flyers moneyline (+200)
Florida Panthers moneyline (-245)
Carter Verhaeghe over .5pt (-166)
Tyson Foerster anytime goal (+275)
Game Information
Watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Florida Panthers on NBC Sports Philadelphia and listen to the radio broadcast on 97.5 The Fanatic. The puck drops at 7pm.
(AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
