5 THINGS: Flyers @ Panthers

GAME NOTES
Interim head coach Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (18-28-10) begin a two-game road trip with a game in Sunrise, Fla., against interim head coach Andrew Brunette's Florida Panthers (39-13-5). Game time at FLA Live Arena is 7:00 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR).

This is the third and final meeting of the season between the teams, and the second game in Sunrise. The Flyers are 0-1-1 in the two games so far.
On Oct. 23 at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers dropped a 4-2 decision. A Jonathan Huberdeau power play goal sent the Panthers to the first intermission with a 1-0 lead. In the second period, a Claude Giroux power play goal and Cam Atkinson shorthanded tally put Philadelphia ahead, 2-1, midway through the game. In the final minute of the middle frame, Owen Tippett re-tied the score at 2-2. The Flyers had a chance to retake the lead in the third period but coughed up a shorthanded goal to Huberdeau. Sam Reinhart iced the win with a late empty-net marker. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 27 of 29 shots to earn the win, while Carter Hart turned back 27 of shots.
On Nov. 24 in Sunrise, the Flyers settled for one point in a 2-1 overtime defeat. A Joel Farabee goal at 7:33 of the first period stood as the game's only scoring until Florida pulled even on a Sam Bennett power play goal early in the third period. In overtime, Aaron Ekblad lifted the Panthers to victory at 2:39 of sudden death. Martin Jones earned 3rd-star honors with a 43-save performance. Bobrovsky (32 saves on 33 shots) improved his career record against his former team to 15-5-1.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 2-1 home win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday. It took 47 saves on 48 shots by Carter Hart plus 23 blocked shots in front of him to eke out the victory. First-period goals by Justin Braun (5th of the season) and Oskar Lindblom (10th) stood up the rest of the way. The Flyers earned their first back-to-back wins since the final two games before the NHL All-Star break and finished a franchise-record homestand with a 3-4-1 record.
The Panthers, who have won four games in a row and are 7-3-0 over their last 10, skated to a 4-3 road win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. After Pittsburgh fought back early in the second period from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game, an Anthony Duclair power play goal (23rd) restored the lead for Florida. A Carter Verhaege (18th) insurance tally provided vital as the Penguins later drew back within a goal but could not generate an equalizer. Reinhart and Ekblad scored a goal apiece in the opening period. Aleksander Barkov notched a pair of assists in the game, and Bobrovsky stopped 32 of 35 shots.
Here are five things to watch in Thursday's game:
1. Changing the angles
No team in the NHL generates more shots per game on the opposing net than Florida (36.8 on average) while only four teams in the league yield more shots on goal against per game than the Flyers (33.9).
More importantly, the Panthers are also the NHL's highest-scoring team at 4.14 per game. In fact, the Panthers' scoring pace this season is the highest in the last quarter-century plus in the NHL since the Pittsburgh Penguins of 1995-96 had three players post 119 or more points (Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis) and Petr Nedved compiled 99 points.
The Panthers are a team that attacks effectively with speed but they are also a club that puts pucks to the net from a variety of different angles and gets players to the scoring areas. Apart from being a fast team, the Panthers are a heavy team to supplement it. The club ranks 9th in hits per game (24.47) while also being the NHL's number-one ranked overall puck possession and number-two ranked shot quality team.
The Flyers' opponent's ability to light up the scoreboard and to beat teams with their feet or to grind out a victory when need be is underscored by Florida being third in the NHL in points percentage (.728) entering Thursday's game. Florida is just about the middle of the NHL pack in goals against average (2.88) and 13th in fewest shots allowed per game (31.0).
For the Flyers to win for the third straight game, they can ill-afford to have the game develop along the same lines as Tuesday's game against Vegas. It's not often that a goalie can truly steal a victory, as Hart did against the Golden Knights. Additionally, the Panthers have received better goaltending this season than Vegas has gotten.
The Flyers will have to earn their scoring opportunities against the Panthers and not fall into a pattern of too many one-and-done forays up ice and prolonged stretched hemmed in their own end of the ice. Such a game would play right into the Panthers' hands. The Flyers need to give Florida a dose of its own medicine by changing angles on Bobrovsky and getting traffic to "take the goalie's eyes away."
2. York Returns
Looking for a little more speed and puck movement from the back end, the Flyers have recalled rookie defenseman Cam York from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms for his second NHL stint of the season. As he did in the latter portion in his initial 13-game stay with the parent team prior to the All-Star break, York will move from his natural left-defense position to play his off-side on the third pair alongside ex-Panther defenseman Keith Yandle.
"We want to play fast. Not just skating fast but also moving the puck fast. We hope Cam can bring some of that element to us. He's been improving in terms of getting the puck back if he doesn't have it, although there's room for improvement," Yeo said after Wednesday's practice at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees.
York is also expected to see duty on the power play in Thursday's game. Yeo said earlier this week that there has been ongoing thought given to giving Travis Sanheim an opportunity to get power play time. Sanheim's regular defense partner, Rasmus Ristolainen, has recently been deployed as the netfront forward on the second power play unit (a role Ristolainen frequently played earlier in his career for the Buffalo Sabres).
With York entering the lineup, Nick Seeler will exit. Veteran defenseman Braun took a puck off his hand in Tuesday's game and was in significant discomfort but completed the game and practiced in full the next day.
Kevin Connauton was cleared on Tuesday to resume playing after exiting last Saturday afternoon's game against Chicago in the third period. He will be with the team on the two-game road trip but is not slated to be in the lineup in Florida. The Flyers claimed the veteran defenseman off waivers from the Panthers back on Dec. 7.
Cam Atkinson, the Flyers' leading scorer with 20 goals and 42 points, took a maintenance day on Wednesday. He will be in the lineup in Florida.
Yeo said after practice that he was uncertain whether Gerry Mayhew (who subbed at practice for Atkinson on Derick Brassard's line) or Max Willman would be the fourth line left wing for Thursday's game. One will play and the other will be a healthy scratch. Willman started on Saturday against Chicago, while Mayhew got the nod against Vegas.
There was some further forward line combination juggling at Wednesday's practice. The Flyers projected lineup is as follows:
23 Oskar Lindblom - 21 Scott Laughton - 11 Travis Konecny
28 Claude Giroux - 19 Derick Brassard - 89 Cam Atkinson
86 Joel Farabee - 13 Kevin Hayes - 25 James van Riemsdyk
71 Max Willman or 20 Gerry Mayhew - 38 Patrick Brown - 27 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim - 70 Rasmus Ristolainen
3 Keith Yandle - 45 Cam York
79 Carter Hart
[35 Martin Jones]
3. Inside the Numbers
Dating back to January 1, the Panthers' scoring rate over their last 26 games has soared to 4.58 goals per game (Toronto is second at 4.19 GPG). The Flyers rank 30th at 2.36 GPG. The Panthers' 2.81 goals against average ranks 11th in that span, while Philly ranks 26th at 3.68.
The Panthers' power play is ranked 12th overall for the season (22.7 percent) but has been absolutely lethal since the turn of the calendar year. Since Jan.1, Florida has connected at a 29.4 percent clip to lead the NHL. The Panthers have also outscored opponents at 5-on-5 in that stretch by a 79-51 margin (158-109 overall for the season).
The Flyers special teams, meanwhile, have cratered. The power play ranks 30th overall in the NHL at 13.5 percent, but has dipped even further to 10.7 percent in 25 games dating back to Jan. 1. Simultaneously, the penalty kill (76.7 percent overall, ranked 26th), has dropped since New Year's to 68.8 percent (30th in that span). However, there has been recent improvement with the Flyers getting some personnel back from injury and posting an 82.4 percent rate over their most recent seven games.

4. Behind Enemy Lines: Florida Panthers
Huberdeau ranks third in the NHL's Art Ross Trophy race, racking up 78 points in 56 games played. He's one point behind the Edmonton dynamic duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, and is NHL's No. 1 playmaker this season with 60 assists among his 78 points; nine more helpers than Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau (23g, 51a). Huberdeau's single-season career high in points thus far was his 92-point campaign in 2018-19.
The NHL's Selke Trophy winner last season, injuries have limited Barkov to 44 games played this season. Nonetheless, apart from his air-tight checking ability, the Finnish forward is second on the Panthers in scoring with 57 points (26g, 31a). He's also won faceoffs at a 56.2 percent clip, logged 20:08 of ice time per game and has 13 special teams goals (nine on the power play, four shorthanded).
Reinhart has 54 points (19g, 35), while the Panthers' other Sam (former Calgary Flames center Sam Bennett) has compiled 24 goals among his 36 total points. After bouncing around the NHL with five other teams, Duclair has seemingly found a home in Florida. This season, the speedy forward has posted 23 goals and 44 points in 49 games.
Rookie center Anton Lundell, chosen by the Panthers with the 12th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, has shown considerable promise at the age of 20. He's posted 14 goals and 38 points in a third-line role. Lundell is currently listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not play last game against the Penguins.

The top end of the Florida blueline is elite, with Aaron Ekblad (15 goals, 50 points, 25:15 TOI, +36) on the right side and Mackenzie Weeger (six goals, 35 points, +31, 23:26 TOI, 135 credited hits, 110 blocks) on the left.
Former Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas, now 31 years old, still logs 18:28 of ice time per game. He's still a player that opponents have to keep their heads up around, leading the NHL with 244 credited hits (Flyers counterpart Ristolainen has 177 hits).
On the injury front, apart from Lundell, the Panthers currently have three players on IR: 42-year-old center Joe Thornton (limited to 24 games this season), winger Ryan Lomberg and defenseman Markus Nutivaara.
In net, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Bobrovsky has had a revival are back-to-back down seasons by his standards upon his arrival on the Panthers. In 40 games played this season, Bobrovsky has posted a 29-6-5 record, 2.55 goals against average, .916 save percentage and a pair of shutouts.
With the 33-year-old Bobrovsky having resolidified his mantle as the No. 1 goalie, 20-year-old top prospect Spencer Knight (19 games, 10-6-2 record, 3.10 GAA, .902 save percentage) has gone down to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers after having his ups and downs on the parent club this season. Bobrovsky is currently being backed up by 26-year-old Jonas Johansson, whom the Panthers claimed off waivers from the Colorado Avalanche. Johansson appeared in nine games for the Avs and has played in one game to date for the Panthers.
Projected lineup (subject to change):
23 Carter Verhaege - 16 Aleksander- Barkov - 98 Maxim Mamin
11 Jonathan Huberdeau - 9 Sam Bennett - 10 Anthony Duclair
17 Mason Marchment - 27 Eetu Luostarainen - 13 Sam Reinhart
77 Frank Vatrano - 55 Noah Acciari - 70 Patric Hörnqvist
52 Mackenzie Weegar - 5 Aaron Ekblad
42 Gustav Forsling - 7 Radko Gudas
32 Lucas Carlsson - 62 Brandon Montour
72 Sergei Bobrovsky
35 Jonas Johansson
5. Players to Watch: Farabee and Huberdeau
Joel Farabee has four points (0g, 4a) in five games since his return to the Flyers' lineup from a month-long absence due to an upper-body injury. He's been held without a point in the two games against Florida so far this season. Farabee has posted one goal in four career games against the Cats. Atkinson, meanwhile, has 10 goals and 20 points in 29 career matches with Florida. Compared to what he's done against many other opponents, Flyers captain Claude Giroux has had relatively modest success when playing Florida (11g, 27 points in 42 games) but did score a goal in the first game against the Panthers this season. Thursday's game will be the 997th of Giroux's career; leaving him three away from joining Bobby Clarke as the only two players to dress in 1,000 games in a Flyers' uniform.
Huberdeau already has struck the Flyers for four points (2g, 2a) in the two previous meetings between the team's this season. For his career, Huberdeau has 11 goals and 17 points in 22 games against Philadelphia.