John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (21-20-6) return home Tuesday night to face Todd McLellan’s Detroit Red Wings (21-21-4) on Pride Night at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 7:00 PM EST.
The match will be televised on NBCSP. The radio show airs on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
Tuesday’s game will complete the seasonal series between the Flyers and Red Wings. At the Wells Fargo Center on December 12, a four-goal blast from Scott Laughton accounted for all the goals scored in a 4–1 Flyers victory. Six nights later, at Little Caesars Arena, the Red Wings won by a score of 6-4.
Entering Tuesday’s game, the Flyers were 4-0-1 over their last five teams to climb back into the Eastern Conference Wild Card picture. The Red Wings had been hot as they went on a seven-game winning streak. However, the club is just 1-3-0 in its last four games, including a 5-1 loss at Tampa on Saturday and a 4-1 loss at Dallas on Sunday.
Here are five things to watch out for in the series finale.
1. Flyers balanced score
Over the Flyers’ last 15 games, 16 different players have scored at least one goal and five players have recorded 10 or more points. Travis Konecny (five goals, 12 assists) leads the overall score during this streak as well as the entire season (21 goals, 33 assists, 54 points in 47 games). Over the last 15 games, Noah Cates and Morgan Frost lead the team with seven goals each.
The Flyers, in recent weeks, have found balanced scoring on their forward lines: Cates centering Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink, Frost centering Owen Tippett and Konecny and Sean Couturier now centering Joel Farabee and Matvei Michkov.
2. Suppression of shots
The Flyers are coming off a game in Newark on Saturday afternoon that saw them hold the speedy New Jersey Devils to just 13 shots on goal. Along the way, the Flyers blocked a season-high 33 shot attempts from their opponent. For the season, the Flyers lead the NHL with an average of 18.10 blocked shots per game.
Detroit is not a team that typically generates a high volume of shots on goal (25.9 on average, third lowest in the NHL), although the team has seen a positive trend since McLellan took over as head coach on December 26.
3. Discipline and special teams
The Red Wings are a team that relies heavily on their strong power play to generate offensive support. Heading into Tuesday’s game, Detroit ranks second in the NHL with a 28.4 percent power play success rate.
The first time the Flyers played in Detroit this season, Philly took only one penalty and held up 4-on-5. This contributed greatly to the 4-1 victory.
When the teams met again six nights later, the Flyers had penalty issues in the first period, including a high-sticking double minor on Tippett. The Red Wings scored for a power play goal by JT Compher.
The Flyers’ penalty kill is currently ranked 20th in the NHL at 77.9 percent. On the other hand, the Flyers could help their own cause immensely if their often-struggling power play (16.5 percent, ranked 28th) could break through against 31st-ranked Detroit on the penalty kill (67.8 percent).
4. Mishkov Watch
The first time the Flyers faced Detroit this season, rookie winger Michkov didn’t record a point, but found himself in the middle of five scoring chances for Philly, including two one-timers from the rim and an attempt missed on a “Michigan” (lacrosse style) during a delayed penalty.
Michkov experienced a dry spell between December and January, but has recently shown signs of offensive warming potential. The 20-year-old Russian winger has four points (2g, 2a) in the last five games. In Newark on Saturday, Couturier sent Michkov on a breakaway, which the rookie completed with a wrist shot from the glove side.
Michkov (14g, 19a, 33 points) is currently second in the NHL rookie scoring standings. Montreal offensive defenseman Lane Hutson (35 assists and 38 points) leads the league among first-year players. San Jose center Macklin Celebrini (13b, 19a) is a point and a goal behind Michkov.
5. Between the pipes
Since the league’s year-end break and return from a recurring lower-body injury, Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson has gone 6-1-0 with a 1.66 goals-against average. , a .930 save percentage and one shutout (vs. Anaheim). Overall for the season, the Swede improved to 13-7-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .889 save percentage.
On the Detroit side, ex-Flyer Cam Talbot has a 4-1-0 record in his five appearances. He stopped 41 of 43 shots in a surprise road win over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, but was roughed up by Tampa (five goals on 16 shots) before being relieved by his compatriot ex-Flyer Alex Lyon.
Lyon got the start in Dallas on Sunday, stopping 21 of 25 shots in the 4-1 loss. Since the Christmas holidays, Talbot has made six starts compared to five for Lyon.
