Looking for their fifth consecutive win, John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (15-10-2) are in Music City on Tuesday to take on Andrew Brunette's Nashville Predators (15-13-0). Game time at Bridgestone Arena is 8:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast is on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the first of two meetings this season between the teams, and the lone game in Nashville. The Flyers and Predators will rematch at Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 21.
Last season, the teams split their two-game season series. On Oct. 22, 2022, the Flyers earned a 3-1 win at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators prevailed in overtime, 2-1, at Wells Fargo Center on Feb. 11, 2023.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a rousing 5-2 road win over the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday in the second game of the current three-game road trip. Throughout the lineup, Philadelphia received step-up performances.
Offensively, the Flyers got two more goals from Travis Konecny (15th and 16th), who has tallied four times so far on the current road trip. The penalty shot goal, which built a 4-2 lead and short-circuited a third-period push from Colorado, finally established a firmer grip on the game for Philly. The Flyers also received tallies from Owen Tippett (9th), Travis Sanheim (3rd) and Joel Farabee (10th).
Bobby Brink recorded two assists, and was instrumental in another goal (Sanheim's) in which he did not record a point. Morgan Frost directly set up the Sanheim goal and helped start two other goal sequences (Tippett's and Farabee's).
Carter Hart cranked out another strong game in net (37 saves on 39 shots). The team in front of him blocked 23 shots.
Here are five things to watch in Tuesday's game in Nashville.
1. Couturier and Konecny
Over the Flyers last 12 games, top-line center Sean Couturier has averaged nearly 20 minutes of ice time per game (19:53). On Saturday in Denver, the 31-year-old former Selke Trophy winner logged a monstrous 22:14 of ice time and won 14 of 25 faceoffs. Couturier recorded three shots on goal, three blocked shots and three takeaways.
Konecny has been scorching hot on the current road trip, racking up four goals in the last two games: 5-on-5 directly off a faceoff, shorthanded rush, transition play 5-on-5 wrister from the slot off a feed from Couturier, penalty shot tally off the pads low to the glove side.
Overall, Konecny leads the Flyers this season with 16 goals and 23 points. Sanheim is second with 20 points (3g, 17a), followed by Couturier (6g, 13a) and Farabee (10g, 7a).
2. Poehling Feeling Better
Flyers center Ryan Poehling missed the games in Arizona and Denver due to illness. He was still under the weather when the club departed Tempe for Denver, staying behind an extra day before joining his teammates. Poehling practiced with the team on Monday in Nashville.
"I feel better," Poehling said on Monday. "I traveled and met the team in Colorado. Today was my first day back on the ice. I feel a lot better."
In his absence, the Flyers dressed call-up forward Olle Lycksell last Thursday in Tempe. He skated six shifts for the game, playing on a wing with various linemates. On Saturday in Denver, the Flyers rotated 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Scott Laughton picked up a heavier workload with Poehling out, skating 20:40 over 27 shifts against the Coyotes and a whopping 22:09 over 32 shifts against the Avalanche. There were stretches of both games in which Tortorella rotated Couturier and Laughton on an every-other-shift basis.
With Poehling recovered from the stomach ailment that kept him out in Arizona and Colorado, the Flyers may not have to shorten the bench to the same degree as the last two games.
3. Goalies in the Groove
After Monday's practice, third-line center Frost was asked what the biggest key has been to the team's 4-0-1 run over the last five games and 8-3-1 stretch over the last 12 matches. The player pointed first to the team's goaltending.
"We're playing well as a team with a lot of confidence right now, The biggest thing has been Hartsy back there, making the saves he's been making," Frost said.
Over the last calendar month heading into Nashville, Hart has made nine starts. He's 5-3-1 in that span with a 2.34 goals against average and .923 save percentage. Backup goalie Samuel Ersson has been stellar, too, going 3-0-0 with a 1.58 GAA, .937 save percentage and one shutout.
The Predators have gotten very strong goalie play over the last month, too. From Nov. 12 to Dec. 12, starter Juuse Saros has made 10 starts with an 8-2-0 record, 2.34 goals against average and .924 save percentage. Backup netminder Kevin Lankinen has made four starts and one relief appearance (2-2-0, 3.06 GAA, .905 SV%).
4. Flyers special teams vs. Nashville special teams
The Flyers have only had a combined two power play opportunities over the last three games. Over those two power plays against Pittsburgh and Colorado, they yielded three opposing shorthanded scoring chances (but fortunately, no goals), and one of the power plays was short-circuited by Cam York having to take a penalty to negate a scoring chance. The Flyers did not have any power plays in the Arizona game.
Before that, the Flyers notched two tallies on the man advantage against the New Jersey Devils (Frost and Tyson Foerster) and another against the Penguins (Foerster again) in the front end of a home-and-home set. With a combined 3:06 of power play time over the last three games, it's impossible to tell if the previous two shows showed genuine improvement or were a mirage.
Tortorella indicated after Monday's practice that, at least for now, the Flyers would stick with the same power play units. PP1 features York at the point, Foerster on the left flank, Konecny in the bumper, Couturier down low and Frost on the right wall. PP2, which has only seen a single shift in the last three games, features Rasmus Ristolainen (or Travis Sanheim) at the point, with Bobby Brink, Tippett, Laughton and Cam Atkinson as the forwards.
Overall this season, the Flyers rank 27th in the NHL on power play at 12.1 percent (10-for-83). They've yielded one shorthanded goal to date. Nashville's penalty kill ranks 24th overall (opposing power plays are 21-for-90). The Predators have scored three shorthanded goals to date, all by Colton Sissons.
At the opposite end of the special teams spectrum, the Flyers' penalty kill has been stellar this season, especially since the start of November. Over the team's last 18 games, the Flyers are 56-for-62 (90.3 percent) for the No.1 PK leaguewide in that span. The Flyers have also scored three shorthanded goals in that time period.
For the season as a whole, the Flyers' PK ranks fifth in the NHL at 86.2 percent. Opposing power plays are 12-for-87. The Flyers have scored seven shorthanded goals overall -- three by Konecny, two by Sean Walker and one apiece by Poehling and Laughton -- to tie for the NHL league lead with the St. Louis Blues.
The Predators' power play ranks 14th overall in the NHL this season, going 22-for-104 (21.2 percent). Nashville has yielded three shorthanded goals.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Nashville Predators
The Predators got off to a tough start this season, but have stepped up the last few weeks with seven wins (7-3-1) in their last 10 games. On home ice at Bridgestone Arena, the team is 9-6-0 to date.
The Predators suffered a 4-0 shutout road loss at the hands of the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday. The next night in Montreal, Nasville captured a 2-1 road win. Sissons scored a power play deflection goal midway through the first period as Filip Forsberg put a shot from up high toward the net. In the second period, Sissons scored an even strength rebound goal to make the Canadiens pay for a failed clearing opportunity. Saros turned aside 36 of 37 shots by the Habs.
For the season, Forsberg leads the Preds with 31 points (14g. 17a) in 28 games played. He's followed by veteran two-way center Ryan O'Reilly (12g, 10a), dynamic defenseman Roman Josi (6g,16a), playmaking forward Gustav Nyquist (3g, 15a) and Sissons (9g, 6a).
