Friday Forecheck: California, Here We Come

Now that the NHL's leaguewide holiday break is over, it's time for the Flyers (15-16-4) to embark on their annual California sojourn. The three games in California mark the start of a five-game road trip that will have a major impact on the outlook for the Flyers as the second half of the season approaches.

After holding a practice session in Anaheim on Friday at noon Pacific time (3 p.m. ET), the Flyers will take on the Ducks (13-16-4) on Saturday afternoon ( 4 p.m. ET) at Honda Center. On Sunday night (9 p.m. ET), the Flyers will play the Los Angeles Kings (19-10-5). The California portion of the trip wraps up on New Year's Eve at 8:00 p.m. ET with a match against the San Jose Sharks (11-20-6).

The final two games of the road trip will see the Flyers play the Vegas Golden Knights (23-8-3) on January 2 and then travel northeast to oppose the Toronto Maple Leafs (21-12-2) three nights later in the front end of a home-and-home set. The venue will finally shift back to Wells Fargo Center for a rematch with the Maple Leafs on January 7.

The California road trip is always a perilous one for the Flyers regardless of their record or their opponents' marks in a given season. Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, which saw teams play entirely in-conference games, here's a look at how the Flyers have fared on the California trip since 2017-18.

2017-18: 2-1-0 (5-3 win in San Jose, 2-0 loss in LA, 3-2 OT win in Anaheim)
2018-19: 2-0-1 ( 3-2 win in Anaheim, 5-2 win in LA, 4-3 OT loss in San Jose)
2019-20: 1-2-0 (6-1 loss in San Jose, 2-1 win in Anaheim, 5-3 loss in LA)
2021-22: 0-2-1 (3-2 OT loss in San Jose, 6-3 loss in LA, 4-1 loss in Anaheim)
2022-23: 3-0-0 (4-3 OT win in San Jose, 4-2 win in LA, 4-1 win in Anaheim)
2023-24: 2-1-0 (2-1 loss in San Jose, 6-3 win in Anaheim, 4-2 win in LA)

Before 2017-18, the Flyers did not always play consecutive road games against the three California-based teams. It varied from year to year.

For example, in 2016-17, the Flyers opened the regular season with a 4-2 win in Los Angeles but did not return to California unit the end of the calendar year with a 2-0 loss in San Jose on Dec. 30, 2017, and a 4-3 shootout defeat in Anaheim on New Year's Day 2018. The previous season, the Flyers endured an 0-3-0 post-Christmas trip that saw the Flyers lose 4-2 in Anaheim, 4-2 in San Jose, and 2-1 in LA.

On an all-time basis, the Flyers are 11-10-2 in road games against the Ducks and 10-14-2 on the road against Anaheim. The Kings, of course, have a much longer history against the Flyers with both teams entering the National Hockey League as part of the 1967 expansion from six teams to 12. Overall, the Flyers are 46-26-8 in Los Angeles entering the current season.

WJC: Canada off to a Fast Start

Team Canada opened the preliminary round of the 2024-25 World Junior Championship with a 4-0 shutout victory over Finland on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

Flyers 2024 first-round draft pick Jett Luchanko skated 15:03 of ice time for Canada across 23 shifts. He had one shot on goal, won three of six faceoffs and was penalized on a first-period boarding minor. Flyers 2023 first-round pick Oliver Bonk (20:36 TOI, +2) assisted on Gavin McKenna's late first-period goal that opened the scoring for the Canadians.

Goaltender Carter George recorded a 31-save shutout. Flyers goalie prospect Carson Bjarnason did not dress for the game. On the Finnish side, Flyers prospect Heikki Ruohonen (three shots on goal, -1. 15:38 TOI) came the closest on his team to scoring a goal. He was denied by George on a breakaway opportunity, however.

On Friday, Canada will play Latvia while Finland will take on Germany. Flyers 2024 second-round pick Jack Berglund (Team Sweden) was forced to withdraw from the tourney after suffering a broken hand in the Junior Crowns' final pre-WJC tuneup.

Phantoms return to action

Ian Laperriere's Lehigh Valley Phantoms (12-11-5) return from their holiday break on Friday with a road game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (16-8-1). The Phantoms will return home to the PPL Center in Allentown on Saturday to take on the Charlotte Checkers (16-7-3). The Phantoms and Charlotte will rematch at PPL Center on New Year's Eve.

Coming off AHL Player of the Week honors and a one-game recall to the Flyers last week, Olle Lycksell leads the Phantoms with 24 points (9g, 15a) to date. He will rejoin the Flyers for the five-game road trip. The season's most pleasant surprise, Jacob Gaucher, paces the Phantoms with 13 goals among his 22 points.