Continuing their gauntlet of games against top Eastern Conference opposition, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (36-26-9) host Paul Maurice's Florida Panthers (45-20-5) at Wells Fargo Center on Sunday evening. Game time is 6:00 p.m. EDT.
The game will be televised on NBCSP+. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the third and final game of the season series between the teams, and the lone meeting in Philadelphia. The Flyers toppled the Panthers in Sunrise with a pair of 2-1 victories on February 6 and March 7. In both games, the Panthers dominated the first period but strong goaltending from Samuel Ersson kept Philly competitive (1-0 deficit at the first intermission in the first game, a 0-0 deadlock in the second). The second period in both games were more evenly played, with both going into the third period tied at 1-1. The Flyers then asserted themselves in the third period and twice pulled out narrow.
The Flyers have played the first five games of a stretch of seven straight matches against the toughest opposition the Eastern Conference has to offer. Philly has gone 2-2-1 thus far, including a rousing 3-2 home win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday afternoon. Philly brings a 19-14-3 home record into Sunday's game. The Panthers, 24-9-3 on the road this season, are coming off a 4-3 (2-1) shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday evening.
Here are five things to watch in Sunday's game.
1. Energy Management
Both the Flyers and Panthers are playing their third games within four nights and the latter game of a back-to-back. Both clubs had empty-the-tank types of matches on Saturday, with the Flyers grinding out a tight-checking contest against the Bruins and the Panthers playing to a 65-minute tie with the Rangers before New York claimed the bonus point via shootout.
The Flyers have a slight on-paper fatigue factor edge, because Saturday's game was a 1 p.m. start, ended in regulation, and there was no travel involved for Sunday's game. The Panthers, meanwhile, will have only a 23-hour turnaround from the start time of Sunday's game in Manhattan. After the OT/shootout contest ended, the Panthers took a train to Philadelphia.
How much of a factor will this actually be in the game? Perhaps it may come into play over the first 10 minutes or so of the first period. Overall, though, both teams are pretty much in the same boat when it comes to needing to manage their energy and avoid getting worn down. The team that digs a little deeper will likely be the winner on Sunday. The Flyers need to emulate the sort of tight checking they modeled in holding the Bruins to 20 shots on goal in Saturday's game.
2. Couturier Line
Returning to the starting lineup on Saturday after sitting out as a healthy scratch (for the first time in his NHL career) in each of the two previous games, Flyers captain Sean Couturier played a strong all-around game in 18 shifts (13:09 TOI). His line with Noah Cates (17 shifts, 10:58 TOI) and Olle Lycksell (13 shifts, 9:56 TOI) generated several strong forechecking shifts that forced the opponent to work from their own end zone. The trio also created a couple of scoring chances.
Arguably, Couturier's strongest performance since a mid-January injury (two games missed) came against the Panthers in Sunrise on March 7. In that game, Couturier -- who has largely been used on the fourth line over the last three to four weeks -- was moved up in the lineup as the game progressed. He was a strong contributor across 22 shifts (17:16 of ice time) to the Flyers' 2-1 win, including five credited hits, a clutch blocked shot and an 8-for-12 night on faceoffs.
On Sunday, the Flyers offense was driven by two goals (29th and 30th of the season) by Travis Konecny and a game-winning snipe from the left circle by Tyson Foerster (18th) late in the third period. Foerster, Scott Laughton, Morgan Frost, Owen Tippett and Ryan Poehling all chipped in one assist apiece. Tippett (three goals, six assists, nine points, plus-eight) and Frost (three goals, five assists, eight points, plus-seven) each have compiled six-game point streaks: new career-high streaks for both players.
However, do not overlook the importance of the Couturier line, especially the captain and Cates, heading into Sunday's game. A similar performance on Sunday to their play against Boston would be an important boost toward finding a way to defeat Florida for a third time.
3. Newcomers on Defense
Injured Flyers defensemen Jamie Drysdale, Nick Seeler and Rasmus Ristolainen are all making progress toward eventual returns to play. In the meantime at least, the Flyers are relying on a combination of youth (rookie defenseman Egor Zamula plus recent AHL recalls Ronnie Attard and Adam Ginning) and experience (veteran blueliner Erik Johnson, acquired at the trade deadline) to hold the fort when the top pairing of Travis Sanheim and Cam York are not on the ice.
On Saturday against Boston, Johnson and Ginning played especially well in doing their parts to help the Flyers toward a vital win. Johnson (16:10 TOI, three hits and one blocked shot) most notably broke up a scoring chance in the defensive zone to start a sequence where Laughton had a breakaway opportunity in transition. Ginning (four hits, one blocked shot, three shots on goal in 16:37 of ice time) was given the "Player of the Game" dog mask in the locker room for the first time in his young career.
These are the sorts of supporting cast contributions the Flyers need to continue getting from players all across their lineup, on the blueline as well as up front.
4. Flyers Special Teams vs. Panthers Special Teams
The Flyers won the special teams battle against the Bruins on Saturday, going 1-for-3 on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. This is yet another area that Philly aims to carry over from Saturday's game into Sunday's clash with Florida.
The Flyers remain 32nd on the power play this season at 13.0 percent success (29-for-223). They've allowed three shorthanded goals. The Panthers rank tied with Boston for 7th on the penalty kill at 81.9 percent. Florida has scored eight shorthanded goals: five by Sam Reinhart and one apiece by Matthew Tkachuk, Kyle Okposo and Kevin Stenlund.
Philly recently hit their first penalty killing slump of the entire season. However, the Flyers have killed six of seven penalties over the last three games. For the season, the Flyers' PK ranks third leaguewide at 84.8 percent success and leads the league with 15 shorthanded goals scored: five by Konecny, three by Ryan Poehling, two by Laughton, two by ex-Flyer Sean Walker (now with Colorado), and one apiece by Garnet Hathaway, Sanheim and Foerster. The Florida power play is a dangerous one, ranking fifth in the NHL at 26.0 percent (60-for-231). They are aggressive and will take some risks, though, leaving them occasionally vulnerable to odd-man counterattacks. Florida has yielded eight shorthanded goals.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Florida Panthers
On Saturday, the Flyers managed to keep Boston superstar David Pastrnak off the scoresheet. Philadelphia faces a similar challenge on Sunday against Reinhart (48 goals, 80 points).
Perennial Selke Trophy candidate Aleksander Barkov (18g, 48a, 66 points) has missed each of Florida's last two games with an undisclosed injury sustained on March 16 against Tampa Bay. He is officially day-to-day. The Panthers' top defenseman Aaron Ekblad (lower-body injury) sustained a lower-body injury on March 9 against Calgary. He was slated to miss at least two weeks and then progress to day-to-day status. Ekblad, too, remained unavailable on Saturday against the Rangers.
Two-time Vezina Trophy winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky started both Thursday's game against Nashville (a 3-0 loss) and Saturday's match against the Rangers. As such, the Flyers are likely to face a different ex-Flyers netminder on Sunday: Anthony Stolarz (13-5-2, 2.02 GAA, .925 SV%, one shutout). "Stolie the goalie" has established himself in recent years as a solid NHL goalie in his own right.
Even if none among Barkov, Ekblad or Bobrovsky play on Sunday, the Panthers have a formidable and deep lineup, led by Reinhart, Matthew Tkachuk (23g. 55a, 78 points, 76 PIM), Carter Verhaeghe (31g, 37a, 68 points), recent veteran addition Vladimir Tarasenko (19g. 25a, 44 points) and blueline stalwart Gustav Forsling (35 points, plus-46, 21:57 average time).
