Returning home from a four-game road trip, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (8-7-1) will take on Bruce Cassidy's defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights (13-3-1) in a Saturday afternoon matinee. Game time at Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 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 and final meeting of the 2023-24 season series between the teams. It was a tough night in Philadelphia sports on Oct. 24, 2024. On the same night the Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 7 of the National League Championship series, the Flyers were unable to protect a third period 2-1 lead in Vegas and ultimately fell in a 3-2 regulation loss to the Golden Knights. Shea Theodore scored the winning goal with just 33 seconds remaining in regulation.
For two periods, the Flyers gave the Golden Knights all they could handle before Vegas surged in the final stanza. Noah Cates and Cam Atkinson scored in a losing cause, while Carter Hart made 26 saves.
The Flyers enter Saturday's game looking to build a four-game winning streak. On Wednesday, Philly finished off a 3-1-0 road trip with a 3-1 victory in Raleigh over the Carolina Hurricanes behind 32 saves from Hart and 30 blocked shots in front of him. Philadelphia received goals from three different lines as Owen Tippett (6th goal of the season), Travis Konecny (10th) and Ryan Poehling (1st) scored once apiece.
Here are five things to watch in Saturday afternoon's game:
1. Who's hot: Tippett and Frost
Flyers winger Owen Tippett brings a three-game goal streak into this game. Of late, he's been effective, using his combination of size and speed along with a quick shot release. He's scored twice off the rush (including a breakaway), once on a one-timer from the top of the right circle, and once on an empty-net goal on a late-game counterattack.
Tippett's center, Morgan Frost, has posted four points -- two goals and two assists -- over the last three games. In addition to a two-goal game in Los Angeles, the 24-year-old player was credited with the primary assist on two of Tippet's goals. In the Carolina game, Frost made a nice one-touch pass on the backhand to tee up the shot that Tippett ripped into the net.
While Tippett and Frost will aim to extend their point streaks along with new linemate Cam Atkinson (moved onto their line during the Carolina game), the Flyers will try to help Tyson Foerster and Cates regain some offensive self-confidence.
Over his last 10 games, Foerster leads all Flyers players both in overall individual scoring chances (26) and individual high-danger scoring chances (15). He has no goals to show for it but, as with Tippett (25 scoring chances, 14 high-danger in his last 10 games), Foerster just needs a puck to go in for him to restore his mojo.
Noah Cates, over the last two games. has been moved down from his accustomed middle-six centering spot to the fourth line. Poehiling has been moved up. While Cates takes a lot of pride in the defensive aspects of his game, he also has offensive expectations.
It would be a great sign if Cates could have an offensive breakthrough game against Vegas, but that's often tough to accomplish in fourth-line deployment. A more immediate objective is generate consistent forechecking pressure -- an area in which Cates generally excels – and get him to the net when there's a chance to do so. Cates is also good at helping the Flyers turn defense into counterattacks, which is something that can be extremely valuable against Vegas because they're otherwise a team that's hard to attack (2.35 team goals against average, third-best in the NHL).
2. Flyers blueline and goaltending
Marc Staal has been cleared to return to play after missing a month with an upper-body injury. Whether Staal is in the lineup on Saturday against Vegas or on Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets remains to be seen.
If Staal does not play on Saturday, Egor Zamula will remain in the lineup. Tortorella noted on Friday that the NHL rookie blueliner -- who has significant highs and lows this season, sometimes within the same game, is still in search of greater consistency. Of late, Zamula has been prone to taking penalties. Zamula did not play during the third period of the Carolina game.
Meanwhile, atop the Flyers' blueline, Travis Sanheim has been playing some of the best all-around hockey of his NHL career. He's also been absorbing massive ice time.
In net, Hart is coming off a stellar outing in Carolina after a five-game absence due to a mid-body injury and then a bout with food poisoning during the California portion of the road trip.
3. Flyers power play vs. Vegas PK
The Flyers' power play struggles have been much-documented of late. The team has been scoring at 5-on-5 with some regularity but is in an 0-for-26 drought on the power play. Philly's lone power play opportunity in the Carolina game left a lot to be desired.
For the season, the Flyers rank 30th in the NHL on the power play: 4-for-53 (7.6 percent). They've allowed one shorthanded goal.
The Golden Knights will enter Saturday's game ranked fifth on the penalty kill (86.8 percent). Opposing power plays have gone 7-for-53. Vegas has scored four shorthanded goals to date: two by Mark Stone and one apiece from William Karlsson and Brett Howden.
4. Flyers PK vs. Vegas power play
Unlike their power play, the Flyers' penalty kill has been a generally strong area for the club so far this season. Under assistant coach Brad Shaw's direction, the Flyers employ an aggressive style in challenging opposing power plays.
For the season, the Flyers rank 14th in the NHL at a success rate of 80.4 percent. Opposing power plays are 10-for-51 to date. The Flyers have scored four shorthanded goals this season -- two apiece for Konecny and defenseman Sean Walker. It should be noted that three of the four shorthanded goals came in a single game (Oct. 21 in Dallas).
The Flyers' penalty kill faces a tall order on Saturday in going up against a stout Golden Knights power play. For the season to date, the Golden Knights rank ninth in the NHL at a 24.1 percent efficiency rate (14-for-58). Vegas has yielded one shorthanded goal.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Vegas Golden Knights
Saturday's game is the third in a five-game road trip for Vegas. The club was shut out, 3-0, by the Washington Capitals on Tuesday before winning a high-scoring (6-5) game in Montreal on Thursday.
Thus far, the trip has not been especially taxing from a travel and fatigue factor standpoint. However, Saturday's game in Philadelphia is the first half of a back-to-back. By the time the Golden Knights visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon, they'll be playing their third game in less than four nights. Even for elite teams like the Golden Knights, that's a challenging stretch. Winning the front end of the back-to-back is important for Vegas.
Karlsson, who was a young fourth-line player in Columbus under Tortorella before blossoming in Vegas, leads the Golden Knights offensively this season with 10 points (8g, 11a). He's followed by the deadly Jack Eichel (7g, 11a), two-way veteran Stone (5g, 12a), defenseman Theodore (4g, 12a) and the speedy Jonathan Marchessault (7g, 3a). Top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (12 games played, one goal, eight assists, plus-five) missed the first game of the season series with the Flyers due to injury but has since returned to the lineup.
In goal, Adin Hill (8-1-1 record, 2.07 GAA, ..928 save percentage, two shutouts) has made 10 starts to date this season. Logan Thompson (5-2-0, 2.27 GAA, .925 save percentage, one assist) has made seven starts.
