Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers (36-30-11) didn’t help themselves in the NHL Metropolitan Division. Deadlocked with the New York Islanders in points (83), the points percentage removed the Flyers from third place in the NHL Metropolitan Division. However, Philadelphia received help from the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers.
Ivan Fedotov made his first career start in the NHL. The Buffalo Sabres went on to win, 4-2.
“Hard game to play. [A] hard game because he didn’t get much action, not many chances. I think we need another save, but I also think we need to capitalize on our chances. That’s the difference in the game.”
John Tortorella; 4/5/2024
Tonight, the Flyers keep the road trip moving against the Columbus Blue Jackets (25-39-12).
Columbus Blue Jackets
In their last five games, the Blue Jackets are 2-3-0. Pascal Vincent described how the team is proving their character in response to gut-wrenching losses as of late:
“Adversity and challenges will define who you are as a person. Yeah, we get hit in the gut right now. How we approach that and how we fight through that; these are great lessons. We challenged our guys a few games ago; how we’re going to respond. We had that game against Pittsburgh and Colorado; we played well, we competed hard tonight, and guys are showing a lot of character. That’s a big piece of the foundation moving forward.”
Pascal Vincent; 4/4/2024
Kirill Marchenko tallied five points (3G, 2A) in his last three games. He notched the primary assist on a powerplay versus the Islanders and scored an equalizer later in the same period. Lately, he has been a critical generator of offense for Columbus. This season, he contributed two assists in three games versus the Flyers. Marchenko did turn the puck over twice when these teams last faced off, and Philadelphia silenced his offensive effort.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Columbus Blue Jackets:
Gaudreau-Voronkov-Nylander
Texier-Sillinger-Marchenko
Pyyhtia-Danforth-Olivier
Malatesta-Gaunce-Meyer
Werenski-Severson
Provorov-Gudbranson
Blankenburg-Jiricek
Greaves
(Subban)
Philadelphia Flyers
Over the last five games, the Flyers are 0-3-2. They haven’t defeated an NHL Metropolitan Division opponent in the 2024 calendar year. Certainly, that isn’t a benchmark sign of an NHL Stanley Cup Playoff contender.
Noah Cates is beginning to heat up with a goal in consecutive games. He scored a game-tying goal against the Sabres and broke the ice versus New York. His forechecking and ability to keep the puck in the offensive zone present relentless pressure for goaltenders. Cates hasn’t added a point against the Blue Jackets in 2023-2024 and did not dress (broken foot) the last time these teams went to battle.
“We need to grind it out against these teams. They’re dangerous teams; they have some really good offensive weapons, but they don’t want to play in their own zone.”
Noah Cates; 4/5/2024
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:
Foerster-Frost-Konecny
Tippett-Laughton-Brink
Farabee-Cates-Atkinson
Lycksell-Poehling-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Seeler-Drysdale
Staal-Johnson
Ersson
(Fedotov)
Place Your Bets (via Draft Kings Sportsbook)
Philadelphia Flyers (-166)
Columbus Blue Jackets (+140)
Noah Cates anytime goal (+550)
Kirill Marchenko anytime goal (+225)
Kirill Marchenko over .5pt (+110)
Game Information
Watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Listen to the radio broadcast on 93.3 WMMR. The puck drops at 7pm.
(AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
