FGD 26: A brunch game in Philadelphia (11am MT, SN West)
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoLosers of six consecutive outings, the Calgary Flames (10-12-3, 23 points) hope that a trip to the City of Brotherly Love can turn around their fortunes. They’re visiting the Philadelphia Flyers (11-7-4, 26 points), losers of four of their last five games, for a brunch game. They’re hoping that confidence and two sorely needed points are on the menu.
The puck drops at 11 a.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan!
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Dube – Ryan – Lucic
Rinaldo – Jankowski – Rieder
Tkachuk – Backlund – Frolik
Dube – Ryan – Lucic
Rinaldo – Jankowski – Rieder
Giordano – Andersson
Hanifin – Stone
Kylington – Davidson
Hanifin – Stone
Kylington – Davidson
David Rittich starts for the Flames, backed up by Cam Talbot. The healthy scratch is Alexander Yelesin. No Andrew Mangiapane today, as he had his nose broken against St. Louis. TJ Brodie has joined the team in Philadelphia but is still a ways away from playing again.
Welcome back, status quo top six lines. The third line of Dillon Dube, Derek Ryan and Milan Lucic are also back. However, that fourth line isn’t an NHL line and the third defensive pairing has been similarly challenged lately. Perhaps the hope is that the team’s top guns – especially hometown boy Johnny Gaudreau, who grew up across the river from Philadelphia – can snap out of their extended funk.
Keep it simple, Flames. Score a goal and maybe have a lead at some point. Baby steps.
The Flyers
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Giroux – Frost – Konecny
van Riemsdyk – Hayes – Voracek
Lindblom – Couturier – Farabee
Laughton – Raffl – Pitlick
van Riemsdyk – Hayes – Voracek
Lindblom – Couturier – Farabee
Laughton – Raffl – Pitlick
Provorov – Niskanen
Gostisbehere – Braun
Sanheim – Myers
Gostisbehere – Braun
Sanheim – Myers
Carter Hart starts for the Flyers, backed up by Brian Elliott. Their extras are Robert Hagg and Chris Stewart.
The Flyers have been streaky this season. They got out to a superb start, but had a four game losing skid that they snapped last game with a victory. They boast a young, mobile defensive group and a pretty balanced forward attack. If the Flames aren’t sharp early, the Flyers could give them fits.
The Numbers
| Flames | Flyers | |
| Wins | 10 | 11 |
| Points | 23 | 26 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 51.2% | 51.0% |
| Power Play | 16.1% | 20.7% |
| Penalty Kill | 85.1% | 84.8% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without F Andrew Mangiapane (broken nose), D TJ Brodie (fainting episode), D Travis Hamonic (lower body), F Sam Bennett (upper body), D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery) and F Austin Czarnik (lower body).
The Flyers are missing D Samuel Morin (knee) and F Nolan Patrick (migraines).
When Last We Met
The Flames played the Flyers back on Oct. 15 in Calgary. In one of their better outings of the season, the Flames picked up a 3-1 victory.
Know Thy Enemy
Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for today’s game:
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