Looking to build a four-game winning streak, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (26-26-7) are in western Pennsylvania on Thursday to conclude a home-and-home set with Mike Sullivan's Pittsburgh Penguins (23-28-9). Game time at PPG Paints Arena is 7:30 p.m. EST.
The game will be streamed on ESPN+/Hulu/Disney+. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the fourth and final meeting of the season series between the Metropolitan Division archrivals and the third game between the teams in February. On Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers skated to a 6-1 blowout victory. Previously, on February 8, the Flyers earned a 3-2 home win. Back on Dec. 23, the Penguins took the first game of the season series at PPG Paints Arena by a 7-3 score.
Entering play on Thursday, in the battle for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference, the Flyers trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by five points (64-59) plus a (20-17) tiebreaker disadvantage in regulation wins. The Blue Jackets also hold one game in hand. Philadelphia also trails the New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens in the standings behind Columbus.
Here are the Toyota RAV4 Things to watch on Thursday night.
1. Jump on Penguins early
Pittsburgh is a vulnerable team right now. Even before their 6-1 thrashing at the hands of the Flyers on Tuesday, Pittsburgh exited the 4 Nations tournament break with 8-3 (home) and 5-3 (home) losses to the Washington Capitals and Rangers. In total, the Pens have been outscored by a 19-7 margin since their return to play.
On Tuesday, the Flyers got things off and rolling with a Rasmus Ristolainen goal at 3:56 of the first period. By intermission, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard and a 16-5 edge in shots on goal. In the Feb. 8 game, Scott Laughton opened the scoring at 1:44 of the first period.
While there is no guarantee of once again being able to get a quick jump on the scoreboard in the first period, the Flyers will try to replicate the same process in the final game of the season series.
Specifically, the Flyers will look to crank up their transition game against a Penguins team that is struggling with both puck management and defensive zone coverages. Philly will look to have defensemen join the attack up ice when possible. Lastly, the Flyers will look to get pucks and traffic to the net against the scuffling Pittsburgh goaltending.
2. Different nights, different standouts
Exiting the 4 Nations break, the Flyers have had two separate lines steal the show in each of the last two games. On Saturday against Edmonton, the trio of Sean Couturier (one goal, two assists) centering Owen Tippett (two goals) and Matvei Michkov (one goal, two assists) were collectively on the ice for five Flyers goals.
On Tuesday against the Penguins, the line was on the ice for the Ristolainen tally as well as a Tippett goal (assisted by Michkov and Couturier). However, the big standout line in that game was the combination of Noah Cates centering Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink.
Busting loose in style from an 11-game point drought, Cates generated two goals and an assist. Brink set a new single-game career best with four points (1g, 3a). Foerster notched a goal and two assists. The linemates were selected as the night's first (Brink), second (Cates) and third (Foerster) stars of the game.
Which Flyers' line will step to the forefront on the road in Pittsburgh on Thursday: Will it once again be the Couturier and/or Cates line? Will it be the line with Laughton centering leading scorer Travis Konecny and Andrei Kuzmenko?
Will the Flyers continue to get offensive contributions from the blueline? Ristolainen has scored a goal in back-to-back games. Jamie Drysdale has jumped into the play offensively as well and was instrumental in Foerster's goal that opened a 3-1 lead in the second period of Tuesday's game.
3. Between the pipes
Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson has been on a roll since the Christmas break: 11-4-1 record. 2.23 goals against average, .919 save percentage and one shutout. In that span, Ersson ranks tied for fifth leaguewide in wins.
The Flyers are still trying to figure out their goaltending depth chart behind Ersson. Both Ivan Fedotov (4-8-3, 3.26 GAA, .877 SV%) and rookie Aleksei Kolosov (4-8-1, 3.45 GAA. .870 SV%) have struggled with in-game consistency. Ersson, however, has solidified his grip on the undisputed No. 1 role with both his NHL performances and his victory over Team USA in the final game of the 4 Nations round robin.
On the Pittsburgh side, goaltending has been in flux. No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry cleared waivers back in mid January. Alex Nedeljkovic has struggled in recent outings amid loose play in front of him (2-2-1 in February with a 3.22 GAA and .876 save percentage. Finnish goalie Joel Blomqvist has also had a rough time (0-2-0, 10 goals allowed on 52 shots in two February starts and one relief appearance).
4. Special teams/ 5-on-5 success
The Flyers are 0-for-4 on the power play in their three games against the Penguins so far this season. Overall, the Flyers' power play ranks 28th leagewide at 15.9 percent.
In the first meeting of the season series, Pittsburgh closed out the pre-Christmas portion of the schedule by torching Philadelphia with a 3-for-3 showing on the power play. More recently, the Pens have been in a power play funk, going 2-for-18 in February to date.
Overall, the Pittsburgh power play still ranks 8th in the NHL at 24.4 percent efficiency. The PK ranks 15th at 79.4 percent. On the whole, the Penguins' special teams (103.8 composite) have been a positive for the club. The problem has come at 5-on-5 where Pittsburgh has scored 112 goals but allowed an NHL-worst 149 opposition goals).
In Tuesday's game in Philadelphia, special teams were a wash. The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play but 2-for-2 on the penalty kill. At 5-on-5, however, the Flyers ran away with the game from territorial, chance creation and goal production standpoints.
Behind enemy lines: Kris Letang & Evgeni Malkin
Last game, the preview focused on matching up against venerable Penguins' superstar Sidney Crosby, who has had more career success against Philadelphia than against any other opponent in the NHL. The Cates line stepped up big against the Crosby line in the game on Tuesday.
This time around, the prematch spotlight will shift to another holdover piece from the zenith of the Penguins' last quarter century: offensive defenseman Kris Letang. In 70 career regular season games against the Flyers, Letang has compiled 53 points (12g, 41a) and a cumulative traditional plus-32 rating.
Just as with Crosby. Letang's offensive production and on-ice goal differential versus Philly in his career is his tops against any opposing club. However, just as with Crosby, Letang is coming off a rough night in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
Incidentally, Evgeni Malkin has compiled 91 points (31g, 60a) in 76 career regular season meetings with the Flyers. The only team against whom he's done more damage over the years is the New York Islanders (94 points).
However, the Flyers have also had periodic success over the years in getting Malkin off his game. The veteran Russian star is a cumulative minus-one against Philly and has 136 penalty minutes. He has no more than 80 PIM against any other NHL team and 58 career PIM or fewer against 30 of the 32 franchises.
