Flyers Preview: Taking Back Home Ice vs CBJ

Kevin Hayes put the heat seeker on Igor Shesterkin, giving the Philadelphia Flyers a surprising shootout victory over the New York Rangers. He’s buzzing over this weekend, and his swagger could become contagious.

Do you know who else plays their former team? Cam Atkinson. Maybe he puts tonight’s exclamation point on the scoreboard.

Earlier this season, the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Flyers, 2-1. The only Flyer to score a goal against the Blue Jackets is no longer on the team. No, not Claude Giroux. I’m talking about Gerry Mayhew.

Tonight, the puck drops at 7pm on Broad Street.

Columbus Blue Jackets (32-32-6; 70pts)

Out of the lineup will be Joonas Korpisalo (hip,) Boone Jenner (lower body,) Alexandre Texier (finger,) Nathan Gerbe (hip,) Yegor Chinakhov (upper body,) and Daniil Tarasov (hip.) Healthy scratches include Gabriel Carlsson, Dean Kukan, and Gavin Bayreuther.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Columbus Blue Jackets:

Nyquist-Roslovic-Laine
Bemstrom-Sillinger-Voracek
Danforth-Kuraly-Bjorkstrand
Robinson-Gaunce-Meyer

Werenski-Peeke
Gavrikov-Bean
Christiansen-Boqvist

Merzlikins
(Berube)

Elvis Merzlikins (22-18-6, 3.4GAA, 90.3%SV) will start for the Blue Jackets. It’ll be his seventh consecutive start. In his career, Merzlikins is 1-1-1 in his career against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Jake Bean (47.8%CF, 66BLK, 17TK, -7) earns the visitor spotlight. He’s a defenseman who is careful with the puck. Before this season, the Carolina Hurricanes traded him for a 2021 second-round pick. The Blue Jackets got Bean, an offensive defenseman who can create shorthanded scoring plays, on a steal.

Philadelphia Flyers (22-36-11, 55pts)

Out of the lineup are Ryan Ellis (lower body,) Sean Couturier (back,) Nick Seeler (lower body,) and Zack MacEwen (concussion.) Healthy scratches include Hayden Hodgson and Kevin Connauton. Yes, that means Keith Yandle will go all of two games before returning to the lineup.

Here’s the projected lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers:

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

Provorov-York
Sanheim-Ristolainen
Yandle-Attard

Hart
(Jones)

Carter Hart (13-22-7, 3.11GAA, 90.7%SV) will start for the Flyers. He follows a victory on Sunday by Martin Jones. In his career, Hart is 1-2-0 versus the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Noah Cates has the home spotlight. Lately, Cates has disappeared on the ice, or so it seems. While he doesn’t make waves on the stat sheet, there are some small things he does to contribute to team success. Mike Yeo noted his contribution to the penalty kill:

“I think we saw some pretty key moments for all those guys; whether it’s Ronnie playing on the powerplay or Cates with the game on the line at the end of the game is out there killing penalties.”

Mike Yeo; 4/3/2022

Props/Prediction

Jake Bean anytime score (+850)
Noah Cates anytime score (+290)
PHI moneyline (-135)
Exact Score Prediction (+1200) Flyers 4, Blue Jackets 3

(Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire)