5 THINGS: Flyers vs. Coyotes

On 1990s Night for their Throwback Thursday series, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (14-17-7) are set to host Andre Tourigny's Arizona Coyotes (13-18-5) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 7:00 p.m. ET.

GAME NOTES
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 second and final meeting of the season between the interconference clubs. On Dec. 11 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, the Coyotes defeated the Flyers in overtime, 5-4. A hat trick by Clayton Keller, including the winning goal in overtime, spoiled a spectacular performance by the Flyers' line of James van Riemsdyk (1g, 3a), Morgan Frost (1g, 3a) and Owen Tippett (1g, 1a). Travis Konecny scored late in the third period on a play set up by Frost and JVR to force OT. Apart from the Keller hat trick, Arizona received tallies from Jack McBain and Nick Ritchie.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 4-1 road win over the Anaheim Ducks, which completed Philly's first-ever sweep of the annual three-game gauntlet of road games against the NHL's California-based teams. In the Anaheim game on Monday, the Flyers received tallies from Joel Farabee (7th), Frost (8th), Travis Konecny (19th) and Scott Laughton (9th). Kevin Hayes, who had been mired in a significant slump, registered a pair of well-orchestrated assists. Noah Cates picked up his third helper in the team's last two games. Goalie Samuel Ersson, who flirted with a shutout until the final minute of the game, took 1st Star honors with 28 saves on 29 shots.
The Coyotes, who have won three of their last five games and are 4-5-1 in their last 10 matches, are coming off a 5-3 road loss in Sunrise to the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. A hat trick by the Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk (two even-strength goals, one power play) and two 5-on-5 goals by Eric Staal proved to be the Coyotes' undoing. In a losing cause, Jakob Chychrun (PPG, 5th), Keller (14th), and Nick Bjugstad (10th) scored for the Coyotes. Keller, who also assisted on the Chychrun goal, recorded his eighth multi-point game of the season to date. Karel Vejmelka stopped 32 of 37 shots he faced.
Here are five things to watch in tonight's game.
1. Flyers going for four wins in a row.
Philadelphia's current three-game winning streak matches the team's longest stretch of consecutive wins so far this season. Previously, the team won its first three games of the 2022-23 regular season, defeating the New Jersey Devils (home), Vancouver Canucks (home) and Tampa Bay Lightning (road) in succession. The Flyers will look to make it four straight victories. The Flyers did not have a four-game winning streak all of last season, either, although they did have two stretches of winning four out of five games (including a stretch of winning five out of six).
The last time the Flyers won four straight games was two seasons ago from Jan. 26 to 31, 2021. During that stretch, the Flyers swept a pair or back-to-back sets on the road against the New Jersey Devils (5-3 and 3-1) and at home against the New York Islanders (3-2 in overtime, 4-3 in overtime).
2. Philly's on a scoring uptick.
It's no secret that the Flyers have struggled to score goals for much of the 2022-23 campaign. The club enters this game ranked 28th offensively in the NHL at a modest 2.68 goals per game. Lately, however, the Flyers have been finding the net with more regularity. The team has scored at least three goals in each of the last seven games.
Konecny, who has been consistently productive all season, leads the team in scoring with 37 points (19g, 18a) in 32 games played. He brings a six-game point streak into this tilt ( seven goals, four assists, 11 points) with five multi-point games in that stretch.
The player has been a model of offensive consistency this season. Konecny has posted at least one point in nine of his last 10 games, 13 of the last 15 games, and 19 of the last 22 games. Additionally, he's relished his added role as a penalty killer and contributed two shorthanded goals this season.
TK hasn't been the only Flyer who has been scoring with regularity of late, but his run has been the most dramatic and the most reliable on a full-season basis thus far.
Tippett was held off the scoresheet in the Anaheim game but had a couple of scoring opportunities. He has four goals and six points in the last six games. In the last 11 games, Tippett has posted nine points (5g, 4a) and generally played well in all three zones, especially in the LA game.
Tippett's five-on-five linemates have also seen their production surge of late. Left winger van Riemsdyk has posted 10 points (3g, 7a) in the last 11 games, while Frost has produced nine points (5g, 4a) in that span.
Two-way veteran forward Laughton has been red hot recently from an offensive standpoint.
He has 10 points (6g, 4a) in the last 10 games. "Laughts" has scored goals in back-to-back games and three of the last four. He also leads the team on the season with three shorthanded tallies to date, all scored on the same forehand-to-backhand move that teammates have dubbed "the Paralyzer".
Defenseman Tony DeAngelo, in his last five games, has compiled eight points (3g, 5a). He saw his four-game point streak end in Anaheim. For the season, DeAngelo leads all Flyers defensemen in scoring with 22 points (7g, 15a) in 33 games played. His overall performance in Anaheim was uneven, and he'll look to get right back on his recent track.
Cates, who broke a 20-game goalless drought in scoring the game-winner in Los Angeles on a shorthanded tally, has posted a modest four goals for the season. However, he's made his fair share of plays of late and is up to a dozen assists on the season with four helpers having come over the last five games.
Young defenseman Cam York has also been contributing to the team's recent offensive improvement. In 11 games since his recall from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantom, York has posted seven points (1g, 6a). York celebrates his 22nd birthday today.
Hayes is still second overall in scoring on the team with 32 points (9g, 23a) assists despite his offensive downturn in recent weeks. The team is hoping that his two-assist game in Anaheim will get Hayes going again.
Likewise, the early-game goal scored by Farabee (7g, 13a for the season) against the Ducks was a potential slump-buster. Moving forward, he's one of the players the Flyers will need to get regular contributions from again especially in the goal-scoring department.
Defenseman Travis Sanheim has had his offensive confidence restored over the last six weeks or so, but a nice 13-game offensive production run (3g, 5a) from late Nov. to shortly before the leagewide holiday break has slowed down of late with DeAngelo and York picking up their share of offensive contributions from the D corps. He has played well overall in four of his last five games.
Likewise, Ivan Provorov and Rasmus Ristolainen have been contributing in other ways of late (particularly in blocked shots) but both are far behind earlier career offensive paces when they saw frequent power play time and were asked to assume larger offensive roles in general. For the season, Provorov has 13 points (1g, 12a) and Ristolainen has two points (0g, 2a). However, Provorov set up DeAngelo for the overtime winner in San Jose at the start of the California road trip and both of Ristolainen's assists this season have come over the team's last four games.
Last but not least, it should be noted that Wade Allison showed hints during the California trip of getting back on track after his return from missing 18 games with an oblique strain and hip pointer. Allison (3g, 1a, 4 points in 20 games played) does not have a point to show for the six games since his return but he was more noticeably involved in the forecheck and a couple of potential scoring chances near the net during snippets of the three games in California trip. It did not help Allison's cause that the Flyers had to kill a lot of penalties.
3. Situational Play
The Flyers enter the game at a team) minus-nine in five-on-five goal differential (66 GF, 75 GA). The Coyotes are minus-16 (63 GF, 79 GA).
Arizona's power play has connected for a goal in each of the last five games. For the season, the Coyotes rank 20th in the NHL at 21.0 percent (25-for-119). They have yielded two opposing shorthanded goals. The Flyers are 21st on the penalty kill (75.6 percent), with seven shorthanded goals scored (tied for the most in the NHL).
The Flyers are 29th on the power play at 15.3 percent (17-for-111) this season with three shorthanded goals allowed. The Coyotes' penalty kill ranks 26th at 72.9 percent. Arizona has scored three shorthanded goals.

4. Flyers Line Play: Hart Back in Net
Flyers No. 1 goaltender Carter Hart (10-11-6, 2.89 GAA, .911 save percentage) was activated from Injured Reserve on Wednesday after clearing the NHL's concussion protocol. Hart is set to get the start against the Coyoters per Tortorella.
Samuel Ersson, who received each of the last four starts including wins in the three California games, will stay up with the NHL team at least for now. Over his four appearances, Ersson has posted a 3-0-0 record, 2.90 GAA, and .905 save percentage.
Early on Thursday morning, the Flyers assigned goalie Felix Sandstrom to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms on a conditioning stint. Sandström, who has only played in one game over the last five-plus weeks, is 1-6-1 on the season with a 3.37 GAA and .889 save percentage.
Additionally, the Flyers have recalled winger Kieffer Bellows from Lehigh Valley. Per Tortorella, Bellows will be an extra forward against Arizona. In 12 games with the Flyers and one with the Islanders before coming to Philadelphia via waiver claim, Bellows has not recorded a point. However, the hard-shooting forward has nine points (3g, 6a) in 11 matches with Lehigh Valley.
The only potential lineup change from the Arizona game, if there are any, would be for defenseman Nick Seeler to draw in and veteran Justin Braun to be scratched. Braun started in Anaheim. Based on Braun taking extra skating at the end of Thursday's morning skate, it appears that the Flyers will dress Seeler and revert to the defense pairings they used in the Los Angeles game.
Projected lineup (subject to change)
86 Joel Farabee - 49 Noah Cates - 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk - 48 Morgan Frost - 74 Owen Tippett
13 Kevin Hayes - 21 Scott Laughton - 57 Wade Allison
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 38 Patrick Brown - 17 Zack MacEwen
9 Ivan Provorov - 45 Cam York
6 Travis Sanheim - 77 Tony DeAngelo
24 Nick Seeler - 55 Rasmus Ristoainen
79 Carter Hart
33 Samuel Ersson
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes are 6-15-3 on the road so far this season compared to a 7-3-2 mark at Mullett Arena. Arizona is 10-3-2 when scoring first but 3-15-3 when their opponent scores first (the Flyers are 10-11-5 in such games).
Keller leads the Coyotes in scoring with 36 points (14g, 22a) in 36 games. As the Flyers witnessed firsthand the previous time they played the Coyotes this season, Keller has speed to burn and is deadly on the breakaway.
Former Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere will dress in his 500th career NHL game tonight. For the season, "Ghost" has produced 26 points (9g, 17a) including three power play goals and a shorthanded tally.
The Coyotes have four players who have produced north of 20 points this season. Apart from Keller and Gostisbehere, the other two are power forward Crouse (14g, 8a) and left winger Matias Maccelli, who has 19 assists among his 22 points. Physically gifted defenseman Chychrun, the son of Flyers alum defenseman Jeff Chychrun, has 18 points (5g, 13a) while dressing in just 20 games to date.
In goal, Vejmelka has appeared in 27 games (11-11-4, 3.23 GAA, .878 SV%, two shutouts) to date this season. Connor Ingram has played in 10 games (2-7-1, 4.24 GAA, .878 SV%).
Projected lines (based on last game, subject to change)
9 Clayton Keller - 72 Travis Boyd - 8 Nick Schmaltz
22 Jack McBain - 17 Nick Bjugstad - 67 Lawson Crouse
12 Nick Ritchie - 29 Barrett Hayton - 36 Christian Fischer
3 John Brown - 26 Laurent Dauphin - 53 Michael Carcone
6 Jakob Chychrun - 14 Shayne Gostisbehere
4 Juuso Välimäki - 90 J.J. Moser
2 Patrik Nemeth - 51 Troy Stecher
70 Karel Vejmelka
39 Connor Ingram