Flyers’ hope to ignite the win column vs. the Flames

“Hello, darkness my old friend.”

The Philadelphia Flyers are trapped in a losing streak. John Tortorella is taking the six-game skid in stride but what is simmered under his furrowed brow?

“I respect how hard they played in Montreal. I usually don’t go into the room after the game. I made sure I did after that game because we played our ass off.”

John Tortorella; 11/21/2022

Aside from dropping their last six, the wider scope isn’t much better. Of their last eleven games, they’ve dropped nine. Tonight, the Flyers hope to end their current misfortune, hosting the Calgary Flames at the Wells Fargo Center.

Calgary Flames (8-7-2)

Here is the projected lineup for the Calgary Flames:

Ruzicka-Lindholm-Toffoli
Dube-Kadri-Mangiapane
Huberdeau-Backlund-Coleman
Lucic-Lewis-Rooney

Hanifin-Andersson
Zadorov-Weegar
Gilbert-Tanev

Markström
(Vladar)

Forcing a shootout, the Flames put forth a solid effort against the Florida Panthers. Rasmus Andersson had the deciding goal on the tip of his stick. He delivered a gem of a game-winner, securing the 5-4 victory for Calgary.

Jonathan Huberdeau was clutch, too. He proved as the equalizer in the second round of the shootout, matching the goal from Anton Lundell. Additionally, Adam Ruzicka had his fingerprints on three of four regulation goals (a powerplay goal, an even-strength goal, and an assist) in the win.

Ruzicka could give the Flyers fits. He’s tied for sixth on the team in points (4G, 4A) in seven games. He is thriving heavily with Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, in sync with his line mates. Currently, Ruzicka is performing at a better than a point-per-game pace. Another wrinkle on offense that’ll give Carter Hart a run for his money.

Philadelphia Flyers (7-7-4)

Here is the projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, per Bill Meltzer:

Farabee-Frost-Tippett
Hayes-Cates, N-MacEwen
Willman-Brown-Laczynski
Deslauriers-Sedlak-Bellows

Provorov-DeAngelo
Sanheim-Braun
Seeler-Ristolainen

Hart
(Sandström)

The injury bug reared its ugly head. Scott Laughton joins Travis Konecny and Wade Allison on the injury report. Laughton is collecting himself from a head injury. Philadelphia recalled Tanner Laczynski, sending Egor Zamula to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Cut to Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. They’re getting chances lately, especially in the recent loss to the Montreal Canadiens. On the powerplay, Frost is making his presence known. Farabee too, who had his best scoring chance against the Canadiens on the man-advantage. Combined, Frost and Farabee total four points over the last five games, including a designed scoring effort for Nick Seeler versus the Ottawa Senators.

Hart remains between the pipes, hovering around 86.5%SV in his last five starts. He needs to gain support from his defense, starting with a disciplined approach. The Flyers are getting burned on the penalty kill. The ask is that Philadelphia doesn’t force Hart to outplay his defense and special teams on a nightly basis.

Place Your Bets

Flames moneyline (-225)
Flyers moneyline (+190)
Joel Farabee o.5pts (-120)
Adam Ruzicka anytime goal (+265)
Morgan Frost goal (+390)

Game Information

The game will be televised on NBC Sports Philadelphia with puck drop at 7pm. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.

(Photo Credit/Alex McIntyre)