5 THINGS: Flyers @ Red Wings

Starting off a five-game road trip that will run through the remainder of March, interim head coach Mike Yeo's Philadelphia Flyers (20-31-11) are in Michigan on Tuesday to take off Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (25-30-7). Game time at Little Caesars Arena is 7:30 p.m. ET (NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic).

This is the third and final meeting of the season between the teams and the second and final game in Detroit. Back on Feb. 9 and 12, the Flyers were swept by the Red Wings in a home-and-home set after the NHL All-Star Break. The Flyers lost a 6-3 home decision and then a 4-2 final in Detroit three days later.
With the NHL trade deadline passing on Monday afternoon, the Flyers and Red Wings each have 20 games remaining on their respective schedules.
The Flyers, who are 2-1-1 in their last four games, enter this match coming off a workmanlike 2-1 home win over the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon. Kevin Hayes led the way offensively with even-strength and power play goals that were assisted by Joel Farabee and Travis Konecny. Carter Hart stopped 27 of 28 shots to earn the win.
The Red Wings, who went 1-3-0 on a recent road trip through western Canada and Washington State, are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Detroit took a 2-0 lead into the third period and then yielded four unanswered goals ,including even strength and empty net tallies by Yanni Gourde. Joe Veleno and Taro Hirose (power play) scored second-period goals for the Red Wings. Alex Nedeljkovich stopped 38 of 41 shots in a losing cause.
Here are five things to watch in Tuesday's game:
1. Post-Deadline Personnel Changes
At Monday's trade deadline, the Flyers traded veteran defenseman Justin Braun to the New York Rangers for 2023 third-round draft pick and veteran center Derick Brassard to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2023 fourth-round pick.
Acquired on Saturday from the Florida Panthers as part of the trade for longtime captain Claude Giroux, right winger Owen Tippett made his Flyers debut on Sunday against the New York Islanders. He skated on a line with Morgan Frost and Oskar Lindblom for the majority of the game at 5-on-5.
Additionally, over the weekend, the Flyers lost forward Gerry Mayhew to the Anaheim Ducks via waiver claim.
For Tuesday's game, the Flyers will likely start 11 forwards and seven defensemen with Nick Seeler seeing a few shifts at wing. Following the departure of Braun, the experiment of having rookie defenseman Cam York playing right defense (his off-side) partnered with Ivan Provorov is likely to continue.
Brassard's departure leaves the Flyers short a center. Nate Thompson (shoulder surgery) could be cleared to play by the end of the week, while Scott Laughton could follow next week at some point. For now, a player such as Max Willman could see some shifts in the middle and fourth-line center Patrick Brown could bump up a line.
2. The Hayes Line
One of the more welcome recent signs in what has been a brutal season for the team as a whole and a hellish last calendar year both personally and professionally: Hayes is finally feeling much better after two core muscle surgeries and a fluid-draining procedure.
Since his return to game action on March 5, Hayes' skating has looked markedly improved along with his ability to shield the puck and win battles. Over the eight games he's been back in the Flyers' lineup, Hayes has posted four goals and three assists for seven points. By comparison,in the first 20 games he played this season, Hayes posted seven points (3g, 4a).
Linemate Joel Farabee missed 18 games this season due to injury and has run hot and cold offensively when he's been available. Although he's only scored one goal in his last 15 games, Farabee appears to be settling back into an offensive groove. Over his past five games, Farabee has posted five points over his last five games (1g, 4a).
Travis Konecny is another player who has dealt with considerable frustration this season, especially in terms of being assertive and confident in shooting the puck. Dressing in 60 of the 62 games to date, Konecny has tallied 10 goals. However, the player has been making much better use of his speed over the last month or so and has been racking up assists at a healthy rate.
Konecny leads the Flyers with 28 assists on the season, which includes 11 helpers since the All-Star Break. In that 17-game span, Konecny leads the Flyers in overall scoring with 13 points.
3. Inside the Numbers
The Flyers' offense is ranked next-to-last in the NHL (2.52 GPG) while the Red Wings are ranked next-to-last in team goals against average (3.71 GAA). The Red Wings' offense clocks in ranked 21st (2.82 GPG) while the Flyers rank 24th in team goals against average (3.39 GAA).
Detroit has scored nine more goals at 5-on-5 than the Flyers have this season but are minus-31 (122 GF/ 153 GA) in their goal differential. The Flyers are modestly better at minus-19 (113 GF/ 132 GA) but have trended in a little more positive direction in recent weeks.
The Flyers' penalty kill was a team strength prior to the Christmas break but has plummeted since then and enters this game ranked 26th in the NHL (75.6 percent). The Flyers power play, despite looking better in the Islanders game and tallying a goal, has been poor overall and enters this game ranked 30th (13.7 percent). Detroit comes in ranked 26th on the power play (18.1 percent) and 30th on the PK (74.0 percent).

4. Behind Enemy Lines: Detroit Red Wings
At the trade deadline, Detroit traded defensemen Nick Leddy and Luke Witkowski to the St. Louis Blues for defenseman Jake Walman, forward Oskar Sundqvist and St. Louis' 2nd-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. Additionally, the Red Wings sent center Vladislav Namestnikov to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Dallas' 4th-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. On Sunday, the Red Wings traded defenseman Troy Stecher to the LA Kings for a seventh-round pick in the 2022 Entry Draft.
Coming into Tuesday's game, NHL All-Star Game representative Dylan Larkin leads the Red Wings with 59 points (27g, 32a) in 57 games played. Larkin,, who racked up five points (1g,4a) in the two February games against the Flyers, is eight games removed from his last goal and has posted three assists in that span.
Tyler Bertuzzi has 49 points (24g, 25a) in 51 games played this season. The agitating winger has posted one goal and five points over his last six games played.
Young forward Lucas Raymond, who posted a goal and two assists against the Flyers in the February home-and-home between the teams, has been the hottest Red Wing of late from an offensive standpoint. The Swedish left winger, who will turn 20 on March 28, posted three goals and four points over the last five games.
5. Players to Watch: Provorov and Seider
Ivan Provorov got off to a very strong start this season over the first month but, as with most of the Flyers team, the campaign since then has not been up to the very high overall standards the Flyers have needed from their No. 1 defenseman. Of late, however, Provorov has been rounding back to form. He is coming off an especially strong all-around performance in Sunday's game against the Islanders. For the season, Provorov leads the Flyers with 24:58 of ice time per game, has posted 20 points (5g, 15a) and blocked 125 shots.
One of the fastest-rising young defensemen across the NHL and a Calder Trophy this season for NHL Rookie of the Year, 20-year-old German defenseman Moritz Seider has averaged 23 minutes of ice time per game this season. He's posted 42 points (5g, 37a), 101 credited hits and 124 blocked shots.