5 THINGS: Flyers @ Predators

GAME NOTES
In the fourth game of a five-game road trip, interim head coach Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (21-33-11) are in Music City to take on John Hynes' Nashville Predators (37-24-4) on early Sunday evening. Game time at Bridgestone Arena is 6:00 p.m. EDT (NBCSP+, 97.5 The Fanatic).

This is the second and final meeting of the season between the teams and the lone game in Nashville. On March 27, the Flyers celebrated longtime captain Claude Giroux's 1,000th and final game with the team by rallying for a 5-4 win over the Predators at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers will be playing their fourth game in six nights, changing times from Eastern to Central to Mountain and back to Central in the process. On Friday an overmatched and leg-weary Flyers team were outshot, 51-31, in a 6-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche.
James van Riemsdyk (16th goal of the season), Zack MacEwen (2nd) and Max Willman (3rd) scored in a losing cause, Carter Hart made 45 saves but was victimized by three goals that deflected into the net off teammates and three others that were scored through traffic in front.
The Predators have had two nights off since completing a three-games-in-four-nights road trip in which the team went 1-2-0.Over the latter two games, the Predatos were outscored by a combined 12-2 margin including a 6-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Filip Forsberg's 36th goal of the season, a power play tally in the second period, was the lone highlight for Nashville last game.
Here are five things to watch in Sunday's game:
1. Elusive first Flyers goal for Tippett.
In his four games as a Flyer since coming over from the Florida Panthers in the Giroux trade, Owen Tippett has registered 11 shots on goal including a half-dozen in Friday's game. He recorded a nice assist on a Patrick Brown rebound goal in Thursday's 2-1 win in St. Louis. He also drew iron on a one-timer that beat goalie Jordan Binnington but hit the post and stayed out. Against Colorado, Tippett had a breakaway opportunity.
The one thing Tippett has not yet done: score his first goal as a Flyer. There have been hints of chemistry between Tippett and center Morgan Frost, but they have yet to combine for a goal for either player.
Frost has not recorded a point since setting up Giroux (vs. Montreal) for what turned out to be Giroux's 900th and final point as a Flyer and his 291st goal for the team. Frost, who has been a scorer at every level of hockey and shown hints of scoring potential in the NHL, has been stuck on two goals this season for the Flyers since Dec. 30 in San Jose.
On the flip side, Frost has strung together four straight strong two-way games since being moved back to center after spending the final two pre-trade games for Giroux on a line with Giroux and Travis Konecny.
Speaking of Konecny, who has posted a team-best 17 points (4g, 13a) in his 19 games since the NHL All-Star break, the player is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that kept him out of the Colorado game. Konecny's status for the Predators game will become clearer on Sunday.
2. Power Play Opportunity for Sanheim
A power play mainstay in his pre-NHL career, Travis Sanheim has not seen much time on the man advantage in any of the last three seasons. A couple weeks ago, Yeo said that he was contemplating the possibility of giving Sanheim a chance to stake down a spot on the power play.
On Friday's game in Colorado, the Flyers only had two power plays. Notably, however, Sanheim received two shifts (1:37 TOI) on the Flyers' second PP unit. He skated with fellow defenseman Ivan Provorov along with forwards Frost, James van Riemsdyk and Hayden Hodgson.
Overall, Sanheim is tied for fifth in scoring on the team since the All-Star break, posting 10 points (3g, 7a) in 20 games. He's recorded 36 shots on goal and logged an average 22:09 of ice time per game and is a traditional +5 despite the sparsity of Flyers wins.
Over the same span, Sanheim's regular 5-on-5 defense partner, Rasmus Ristolainen, has dressed in 17 games and averaged 22:23 TOI. The big Finn has posted five points (0g, 5a), recorded 62 hits and 43 blocked shots to lead the club by a wide margin, and is a traditional minus-one.
Provorov leads all Flyers with an average 24:27 TOI over the last 20 games, although there have been a couple games where Ristolainen and/or Sanheim received virtually equal or slightly higher total ice time. Provorov has three points (0g, 3a) and is a traditional minus-two since the All-Star break.
3. Inside the Numbers: Since the All-Star Break
As a team, the Flyers have posted a 6-11-3 record since the NHL All-Star break. The Predators have gone 9-10-0 in the same span. The Flyers have averaged 2.70 goals per game (27th in the NHL) and have a 3.80 team GAA (29th in the NHL). Nashville has averaged 3.53 GPG (tied for 8th) and has a team 3.42 GAA (ranked 21st).
Additionally,since the All-Star break, the Flyers power play has fallen to the very bottom of the NHL for the season (13.2 percent). In the last 20 games, the Flyers have gone just 6-for-62 (9.7%) and yielded two shorthanded goals including a devastating SHGA that was scored with Philly holding a one-goal lead in the final minute of regulation and an empty net at the other end.
The Flyers' penalty kill, which was above 80 percent at the Christmas break, has fallen off a cliff since New Year's. Looking only at the team's 20-game period since the All-Star break, the Flyers rank 30th at 69.2 percent.
At 5-on-5, the Flyers have scored 46 goals since the All-Star break (12th most in the NHL) also yielded 46. Given the Flyers' special teams issues on both the power play and penalty kill, however, breaking even at 5-on-5 has not been good enough although it represents improvement from earlier in the season.
The Predators since the All-Star break have scored 40 goals at 5-on-5 and given up 37 across the 19 games they've played. Their power play, which has connected nine times in the last nine games at a 29 percent rate (9-for-31), ranks 12th overall since the All-Star break at 23.4 percent.
The Nashville PK has had issues of its own since the All-Star break. The Predators rank 27th in the NHL over their last 19 games, killing off less than three of every four penalties successfully (18 PPGA on 68 opportunities, 73.5 percent). This is problematic for Hynes' team because they are also the NHL's most penalized team this season.
In terms of full-season team statistic comparatives for the Flyers and Predators, see below:

4. Behind Enemy Lines: Nashville Predators
The Predators currently hold the upper wildcard spot in the Western Conference but they are battling the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis for a top-three spot in the Central Division and the automatic playoff spot that comes with it. If the season ended today, the Predators would play the Calgary Flames in the Western Conference quarterfinals.
Norris Trophy candidate Roman Josi leads all defensemen in the NHL in scoring with 79 points (18g, 61a) and is seventh in scoring overall in the league. He was named the NHL's First-Star of the Week this past Monday. The last time the Flyers played the Predators, Josi collected three assists.
Forsberg is also having a career year. He's already set a franchise single-season goal-scoring record and enters this game ranked sixth in the Rocket Richard Trophy race. His 29 goals at even strength rank third leaguewide. Forsberg scored a goal the last time the Predators played the Flyers, and has added four more since then.
Rookie forward Tanner Jeannot, who hit the 20-goal mark on the season in the previous meeting with the Flyers, enters this game with 21 goals, 36 points and 101 penalty minutes.
Veteran center Matt Duchene enters this game with 34 goals and 66 points on the season. He assisted on Forsberg's goal in the previous game against the Flyers. Overall, Johansen has 14 points (8g, 8a) in 17 career games versus Philadelphia.
Ryan Johansen brings a three-game point streak (0g, 3a) into this match. He has had a feast-or-famine career in games against the Flyers. He notched a power play goal in the previous meeting and has 17 goals and 49 points on the season. His career-best single game came against the Flyers back on Nov. 14,2014, when Johansen was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets. On that night, he racked up four points (0g, 4a). For his career, Johansen has posted five goals and 14 points in 20 games against the Flyers.
Veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who recently hit the 20-point mark for the seventh consecutive season, has averaged 23:25 of ice time this season.
Acquired at the NHL trade deadline from the Seattle Kraken, Jeremy Lauzon has averaged 19:01 TOI across his three games with the Predators to date. He has been credited with 14 hits and three blocked shots in that span.
In the meantime, young blueliner Alexandre Carrier is third among NHL rookie defenseman in assists. He needs four points over the remainder of the season to surpass the franchise rookie defenseman point record set by Dan Hamhuis back in 2003-04.
Ex-Flyers center Nick Cousins chipped in an assist the last time he played his former club. The agitating forward has seven goals and 18 points this season. Another former Flyer, Philippe Myers, struggled with turnovers (including three on a single shift) but scored his first goal of the 2021-22 season the last time the Predators played Philadelphia. Since that time, the once highly touted defenseman was placed on -- and cleared -- waivers and was subsequently loaned out to the Toronto Maple Leafs' AHL affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.
In goal, Juuse Saros checks in with a 31-20-3 record this season, 2.55 goals against average,a .921 save percentage and three shutouts. He had something of an off-night against the Flyers in the previous meeting. Similar to what happened to Hart in Colorado, Saros made 44 saves but still yielded six goals in the team's loss in Vegas.
Backup Predators goalie David Rittich (5-3-1, 3.24 GAA, .890 SV%) has made nine starts and two relief appearances this season. He got the start in LA during the Predators' recent road trip, taking the loss in yielding five goals on 34 shots.
5. Players to Watch: York and Josi
Flyers rookie defenseman Cam York has been settling in nicely to playing his off side (right defense), paired with Ivan Provorov. He's also been getting time on the No. 1 power play unit. York has played 20-plus minutes in each of the last three games, and has made several good plays with the puck especially when he can join the attack up ice. York had two assists in the St. Louis game and one against Colorado.
Josi brings a 12-game point streak into Sunday's game against the Flyers including assists in nine straight games. Overall, Josi has racked up 26 points (4g, 22a) in his last 12 games.