Looking to extend their winning streak to five games, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (9-7-1) will host Pascal Vincent's Columbus Blue Jackets (4-10-4) on Sunday evening. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 5:30 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP+., with Jim Jackson and Brian Boucher on the call The radio broadcast with Tim Saunders and Todd Fedoruk on the call is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second meeting of the four-game season series between the Flyers and Blue Jackets, and the first of two in Philadelphia. On opening night of the 2023-24 regular season, the Flyers skated to a 4-2 win at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. Travis Konecny scored twice for Philly, while Joel Farabee and longtime Blue Jacket winger Cam Atkinson tallied once apiece. Jake Bean and Patrik Laine notched goals for Columbus in a losing cause.
The Flyers enter this Sunday's game coming off a 4-3 overtime home victory on Saturday afternoon against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. Sean Couturier (4th goal of the seeing) netted the seeing-eye game winner in sudden death. Owen Tippett (PPG, 7th), Tyson Foerster (PPG, 1st) and Sean Walker (3rd) scored in regulation. Carter Hart was excellent in stopping 29 of 32 shots. The Flyers' goalie did his best work in the first and third periods.
Here are five things to watch as the Flyers take on the Blue Jackets:
1. Staying focused
One day before the Flyers started their recent four-game road trip with a 2-1 loss to the previously winless San Jose Sharks, Tortorella cautioned that the Flyers are in no position to take any team lightly. "We shouldn't even be able to spell 'trap game'," Tortorella said. On that night, the Flyers generated a slew of shots in terms of quantity but not much in terms of true Grade A scoring chances (nor were they able to finish).
Following the loss in San Jose, the Flyers earned a road win against an Anaheim Ducks team that had beaten them in Philly. That was followed by three successive highly regarded opponents who'd also defeated the Flyers in the first game of their respective season series: Los Angeles Kings (4-2), Carolina (3-1) and Vegas.
Now the Flyers, playing the second game of a back-to-back, face a somewhat similar situation to the one they had in San Jose: a struggling opponent Philly is "expected" to beat. The last thing the Flyers can afford to do is let down their guard. Of late, the Flyers have been playing from ahead and that's been a big factor in their series of wins. When scoring first, the Flyers are 9-1-0. When the Flyers give up the first goal, as they did in San Jose on the game's second shift, they are 0-6-1.
2. A hard act to follow
Look for Samuel Ersson to start in goal in the second game of the back-to-back. Ersson struggled in his first several appearances this season. He played well in Buffalo with Hart injured, was fine in a losing cause against the Sharks, and then quite strong in the win in Anaheim. The Flyers don't necessarily need Ersson to duplicate Hart's spectacular performances against the Hurricanes and Golden Knights. They do need the young Swedish netminder to make Columbus earn their goals and to make the stoppable save opportunities. Overall this season, Ersson is 2-3-1 with a 3.43 goals against average and .855 save percentage.
Meanwhile, after being a healthy scratch in each of the last three games because the Flyers have been winning, it's possible that Bobby Brink could get back in the lineup to get some fresh legs and a dose of his offensive creativity into the mix. Likewise, with veteran defenseman Marc Staal, who was activated to play after missing a month with an upper-body injury. It's possible that he could return to the lineup for the Blue Jackets game.
3. Flyers power play vs. Columbus PK
The Flyers ended their drought in the man advantage with two power play goals on Saturday, getting the tallies by Tippett and Foerster. Later, however, the Flyers were unable to capitalize on a five-minute power play opportunity in the second period and Vegas scored shortly thereafter to briefly tie the score at 2-2.
The Tippett and Foerster goals weren't snipes or slam dunks. Both were cases of being in the right place at the right time. Tippett's goal came off a blocked shot attempt from Travis Sanheim that bounced to him. Foerster's score came on a friendly bounce off the end boards to the eventual goal scorer in the low slot. Plays like these are how the Flyers have to score goals to get the power play going. Nothing fancy, just players getting to the greasy areas and the team generating some self-made puck luck.
For the season, the Flyers are now 6-for-57 (10.5 percent, ranked 29th) on the man advantage. They've yielded one shorthanded goal.
The Blue Jackets have had trouble this season in many areas of their game. The penalty kill, however, has not been one of them. The Columbus PK enters Sunday's game ranked fourth in the NHL at a success rate of 88.2 percent. Opposing power plays are 6-for-51 against the Blue Jackets. Vincent's team is still looking for its first shorthanded goal of the season.
4. Flyers PK vs. Columbus power play
The Flyers got themselves in penalty trouble on Saturday in the second period against the lethal Golden Knights. The Flyers took three successive penalties in short order: Walker for holding at 17:05, Konecny for a rather marginal holding minor at 17:53, and Scott Laughton for a cross check at 18:35.
As a result, the Flyers faced a lengthy 5-on-3 disadvantage that, by rule, could not even start ticking down the Laughton penalty clock until the Walker penalty expired. The Flyers caught a break when Vegas scored a 5-on-3 power play goal one second after the expiration of the Walker penalty. As a result, Konecny was able to leave the penalty box, too, and it became a standard 5-on-4 kill. The Flyers got through the remaining PK, which carried over into the third period.
Early in the third period, Morgan Frost was battling for the puck along the defensive boards and got his stick into Michael Amadio's skates. Amadio fell, and Frost was called for an ill-timed tripping penalty. The Flyers killed this penalty off, too, to go 3-for-4 on the day. All in all, it could have been much, much worse.
For the season, the Flyers rank 14th in the NHL at an even 80 percent on the penalty kill. Opponents are 11-for-55. The Flyers have scored four shorthanded goals this season -- two apiece for Konecny and Walker. It should be noted that three of the four shorthanded goals came in a single game (Oct. 21 in Dallas).
The Blue Jackets power play ranks 28th in the NHL; one spot above the Flyers. The team has gone 6-for-26 (10.7 percent) thus far, and yielded one shorthanded goal.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Columbus Blue Jackets
Things in Columbus haven't been quite as bad as they were with San Jose before the Sharks beat the Flyers. But it hasn't gone much better lately, either. Sitting in the Eastern Conference cellar and 29th-place leaguewide, the Blue Jackets have lost three games in a row in regulation and are winless in eight overall. The team has just one win (1-7-2) in its last 10 games.
Vincent has been exhorting his players, in no uncertain terms, to play the game the right way. The team's two biggest-name talents, Johnny Gaudreau (twice) and Patrik Laine (once), have respectively experienced in-game benchings as Vincent tried to make clear his expectations apply to everyone. The Blue Jackets enter this game at a minus-16 in goal differential; not nearly as eye-popping as San Jose's minus-47 but still unacceptable. Gaudreau and Laine were benched simultaneously in the third period of a 3-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes this past Wednesday.
On Saturday, the Blue Jackets put forth an improved performance on the road against the red-hot Washington Capitals (winners of four games in a row, 8-1-1 in their last 10 games). However, the end result was a 4-3 regulation loss. Gaudreau scored his second goal of the season. Former Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, who will be playing his first game back in Philadelphia on Sunday, tallied his first goal of 2023-24. Zack Werenski notched an assist and has recorded at least one helper in five straight games.
Rookie Adam Fantilli has been one of the bright spots for the Blue Jackets this season. His four goals tie him for fourth among NHL rookies this season, and he has nine points overall. Werenski and Provorov share the team scoring lead with 11 points apiece (one goal, 10 assists for both players). Longtime Flyers nemesis -- and close friend of Philly's Scott Laughton -- Boone Jenner has scored seven goals among his 10 points to date.
With Elvis Merzlikins (22 saves on 26 shots against Washington) having started on Saturday, look for Spencer Martin (7 GP, 1-4-1 record, 3.26 GAA, .905 save percentage) to get the nod against Philly.
