In the fourth game of a five-game homestand, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-2) will host Luke Richardson's Chicago Blackhawks (7-12-1) on Saturday afternoon. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EST.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the first of two meetings this season between the inter-conference clubs. The Flyers and Blackhawks will rematch in Chicago on the afternoon of March 23, 2025.
The Flyers are 1-2-0 on the current homestand. They played arguably their best all-around game of the season in a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday. Two nights later, Philly made a late comeback bid against the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-2 loss. On Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Flyers played a solid first period and decent enough second period to enter the final stanza tied at 1-1. However, the Hurricanes dominated the third period and pulled away with three unanswered goals in a 4-1 decision. Early in the middle frame, Ryan Poehling notched the lone Flyers goal.
Here are five things to watch in Saturday's game:
1. Scoring the first goal
The Flyers have scored first in 10 of the 20 games they've played this season. The team has gone 6-2-2 in those games. Philly needs to improve upon that winning percentage, where the league median so far is .625 (the Flyers are .600). When trailing first, the Flyers are 2-8-0. One win when trailing first was the team's opening night shootout victory in Vancouver. The other was a 2-1 shootout win in Tampa Bay on Nov. 8.
Chicago has also scored first in 10 of 20 games, winning six (6-3-1). When trailing first, the Blackhawks are 1-9-0.
2. Michkov vs. Bedard
Yes, hockey is a team game. Saturday's game outcome will come down to whether the Flyers outplay the Blackhawks, and not just whether Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov outshines Chicago's Connor Bedard during the afternoon. Nevertheless, the No. 1 source of intrigue and drama surrounding this game is that it marks the first-ever NHL meeting between the first and seventh overall picks of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Both Bedard and Michkov were hockey prodigies well ahead of their Draft year, and their respective merits have been internationally debated since long before either player skated his first NHL shift.
Since being scratched for two games due to lapses of positional puck support, Michkov has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last five outings.He did not record a point against Colorado or Carolina but had a combined five shots on goal over the last two games. Michkov and Dallas Stars winger Logan Stankoven are tied atop the NHL's rookie scoring leaderboard but Michkov has the tiebreaker edge with six goals among his 15 points to date. Both players have played 18 games.
Bedard won the Calder Trophy last season as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. This season has so far been a bit frustrating for him. However, despite not scoring a goal since Oct. 26, Bedard leads the Blackhawks with 15 points (3g, 12a) through 20 games. Richardson recently moved Bedard from center to left wing. He's been playing on a line with Jason Dickinson at center and Joey Anderson at right wing. The move was made to alleviate some of the 200-foot-game pressure on Bedard. He was also getting frustrated at the faceoff dot, frequently getting tossed from draws and winning just 29.8 percent (47-for-158) of the faceoffs he's taken so far. Moving to wing lessens some of the defensive burden and "shortens the ice" in terms of the areas he needs to skate.
3. Couturier line must lead the way
The Flyers could use a big game from their top five-on-five line centered by team captain Sean Couturier. Coincidentally or not, it's been a bit of a scuffle lately for Couturier on either side of a minor injury that forced him to miss the Nov. 14 home game against the Ottawa Senators. Couturier has one point (0g, 1a) over his last five games with just three shots on goal over his last four games. He fared better when he was stationed near the net, setting up screens and looking for rebounds.
Among Couturier's nine points this season, five came in a single game against Minnesota on the afternoon of October 26. On that day, Couturier ended a personal 32-game goal drought with a hat trick and two assists. Since that time, Couturier has played 11 games (0g, 3a). The former two-time Selke Trophy finalist (winner in 2019-20) is still the team's best defensive center and the most important in the trenches whether scoring or not. Even so, the Flyers need more production from all of their centers including Couturier.
Couturier's linemate, Owen Tippett, scored an impressive goal against Colorado on an explosive wrist shot with wicked movement on it. However, it's the 25-year-old winger's only point in his last six games. Tippett has habitually run hot and cold in much of his NHL career and this season so far has not been an exception. He had a stretch of eight points in eight games (3g, 5a) from Oct. 23 to Nov. 7 but has since had trouble finding the mark again except for the tally against the Avalanche. The Flyers need another hot streak from Tippett sooner than later.
The Flyers' leading scorer, Travis Konecny (11g, 12a, 23 points in 20 games) saw a personal seven-game point streak end in Wednesday's game against Carolina. Prior to that game, he was scorching hot offensively with 13 points over the previous seven matches. Konecny has also been logging massive all-situation ice time (21:10 average). The veteran winger played 23:05 against Colorado, which is comparable to the sort of ice time that a top-two defenseman might play.
Konency took a maintenance day on Friday. Anthony Richard skated with Couturier and Tippett at practice.
4. York Gearing for Return
The Flyers have been injury riddled on the blueline for most of the first quarter of the season. Several players have missed five games or more due to injury, while Egor Zamula (himself recently dealing with a minor injury) has been a coach's decision scratch in four games. Only No. 1 defenseman Travis Sanheim (25:33 average ice time, 12 points) and rugged veteran Rasmus Ristolainen (20:28 TOI) have dressed in all 20 games to date.
Typically skating on the left side of the Flyers top defensive pairing, Cam York (22:56 TOI, three points) has missed the last 13 games due to an upper body injury. He finally appears ready to rejoin the lineup alongside Sanheim. York's combination of mobility, puck skills and two-way awareness has been missed in his absence, although Sanheim has done an outstanding job with a rotating cast of defense partners.
The Flyers are still missing Jamie Drysdale and rookie Emil Andrae due to injuries. Rookie emergency callup Helge Grans has done a commendable job overall in his two games played to date.
5. Important Game for the F Troop
The three members of the Flyers' F Troop -- Joel Farabee, Tyson Foerster and Morgan Frost -- have had varying degrees of disappointing first quarters this seasons. These are three players who came into the season needing strong campaigns.
Apart from posting four power play assists in the season's first eight games and scoring the shootout winner in the opener, Frost has had a very disappointing start to a crucial season in his career arc. As Tortorella noted earlier this week, the 25-year-old is the most naturally skilled center on the roster and he needed to put together a full solid season and not just the latter two-thirds (2022-23) or half (2023-24) season of leading the club in assists and ranking at or near the top of the team in points. More consistency was -- and still is -- needed, but the first quarter of the season has been a near constant struggle for him especially at 5-on-5. He has been a healthy scratch in four of the last five games including the last three in a row. Frost is likely slated to return to the lineup on Saturday.
Farabee, 24, skated at practice on Friday on a line with Frost (one of his best friends on the team) and Bobby Brink. Farabee's season to date has been one of fits and starts. He seemingly found a rhythm for a few games at a time -- especially the final week of October through the first week of November -- whether or not he got rewarded with points in a given game. More recently, it's been a bit of a struggle again in three of his last four games. Statistically, Farabee has eight points (3g, 5a) while dressing in all 20 games played to date. He has not missed a game in any of the last two-plus seasons.
Foerster, (4g, 1a) in 19 assists hit an early rough spell after scoring an opening night power play goal, to the point that the 22-year-old winger was a healthy scratch in a home game against the Washington Capitals. He was later moved down to the fourth line at 5-on-5 in order to focus on recovering the non-scoring details of his game -- particularly his forechecking game and effectiveness in 50-50 puck battles on the boards -- that made his rookie season a success last year on top of his 20 goals. Gradually, he's started to get back on his game again. He also recently scored goals in back-to-back games by getting to the net. If pucks aren't going on from the flank or the slot, this is a different way he can score. Careless minor penalties have been a problem this season for Foerster (Frost, too, at times, along with issues of getting booted from too many faceoffs). While his overall game has trended back in a positive direction over the last week or two, Foerster has taken ill-timed minors in three of the last four games.
