Flyers Preview: Broad Street Visits Broadway

Last night, the Philadelphia Flyers returned to the Wells Fargo Center, hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs. Following a 1-4-0 road trip, home ice didn’t provide any advantage.

Ronnie Attard made his debut. Attard showed glimpses of promise, holding his own against William Nylander. In the third period, the Flyers unraveled despite a decent performance through the first two. Auston Matthews scored on a wide-open net, and Pierre Engvall scored a shorthanded goal. Morgan Rielly and John Tavares added two more.

All night, Philadelphia wasn’t clean on line changes, and as the game progressed, the Maple Leafs danced around the OZ. Carter Hart struggled during the second period, and the third was a tipping point of frustration. My exact score prediction was nearly perfect before Tavares scored, bringing the final to 6-3.

The Flyers visit Madison Square Garden to battle the New York Rangers at 7pm.

New York Rangers (44-20-5; 93pts)

Out of the lineup will be Kevin Rooney (upper body,) Kaapo Kakko (upper body,) and Samuel Blais (ACL.) Healthy scratches include Jonny Brodzinski, Julien Gauthier, Justin Braun, and Libor Hajek. Ryan Strome could return.

Here’s the projected lineup for the New York Rangers:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Vatrano
Panarin-Copp-Hunt
Lafreniere-Chytil-Goodrow
Motte-McKegg-Reaves

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Schneider

Georgiev
(Shesterkin)

Alexandar Georgiev and Igor Shesterkin both started in the last two games. Most recently, Shesterkin took the loss against the New York Islanders. Georgiev won his recent start in overtime against the Detroit Red Wings. The Philadelphia Flyers could start Martin Jones, which makes sense for Georgiev to earn the nod.

Andrew Copp (15G, 27A) earns the opponent spotlight. His effort against the Islanders didn’t reflect on the scoreboard, but something tells me it will tonight.

Philadelphia Flyers (21-36-11, 53pts)

Out of the lineup is Ryan Ellis (lower body,) Sean Couturier (back,) and Scott Laughton (concussion.) Healthy scratches include Hayden Hodgson, Keith Yandle, and Kevin Connauton. Nick Seeler, who seemed to have injured himself along the boards last night, is still in the lineup.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:

Lindblom-Hayes-Konecny
Cates, N-Farabee-Atkinson
van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett
Thompson-Brown-MacEwen

Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Seeler-Attard

Jones
(Hart)

Jones (8-14-3, 3.40GAA, 90%SV) will start for the Flyers. He’s 3-3-1 in his career against the New York Rangers.

Ivan Provorov (47CF%, 131BLK, 73GV, -12) gets the spotlight for Philadelphia. He was involved in every goal last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a frustrating season for the team, but Provorov has played better as of late. Last night, he took on the top powerplay unit in the NHL. Tonight, he takes on the second-best.

Props/Prediction

NYR moneyline (-330)
Andrew Copp anytime score (+270)
Ivan Provorov anytime score (+650)
Correct Score Prediction (+1300): Flyers 3, Rangers 4

(Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)