5 THINGS: Flyers vs. Senators
John Tortorella's Philadelphia Flyers (7-4-2) are home on Saturday to take on D.J. Smith's Ottawa Senators (4-8-1)
By
Bill Meltzer
philadelphiaflyers.com
GAME NOTES
The game will be televised on NBCSP and NHL Network. The radio broadcast is on 93.3 WMMR with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the second of three meetings this season between the teams. Last Saturday (Nov. 5) in Ottawa, the Flyers skated to a 2-1 victory. The season series concludes back in Ottawa on March 30.
Today's game marks Claude Giroux's first game back in Philadelphia since he was traded to the Florida Panthers as a 2022 deadline rental. It will be his only game at the Wells Fargo Center during the 2022-23 season. Last Saturday, Giroux's early first period tally -- the 300th goal of his NHL career -- served as the only goal that Ottawa would get.
A few minutes after Giroux scored, Kevin Hayes knotted the score on a power play deflection. Late in the second period, Zack MacEwen put the Flyers ahead with what proved to be the game-winning goal, Carter Hart stopped 31 of 32 shots and the team in front of him blocked an additional 29 shot attempts. Former Flyers goalie Cam Talbot took the loss, saving 26 of 28 shots. The Flyers went 1-for-3 on the power play. Ottawa was 0-for-5.
Prior to the start of today's game, the Flyers will present a special video tribute to Giroux, highlighting his career in Philadelphia. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats early. The video tribute will begin right after Flyers public address announcer Lou Nolan introduces the starting lineups and invites fans to welcome "G" back to Philadelphia.
Here are five things to watch in Saturday's rematch in Philadelphia.
1. Puck management must improve.
On Thursday, the Flyers dropped a 5-2 road decision to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus had come in dragging a five-game losing streak while the Flyers had won their previous two games and had points in four of their previous five games (2-1-2). The Blue Jackets also lost two of their starting defensemen to injuries during Thursday's game, including No. 1 defenseman Zach Werenski (who had a goal and an assist in the first period before going down). The Flyers trailed 3-0 by the opening minute of the second period and were unable to get an equalizer after whittling the deficit down to 3-2. Two late empty net goals by Columbus sealed the outcome.
What was the primary cause of the Flyers' demise last game? Turnovers in dangerous areas of the ice. Scored by Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus' first goal was a 100-foot counterattack off an ill-advised Owen Tippett stretch pass attempt that got picked off by Werenski right around the red line. The Werenski goal that made it 2-0 came off a broken 2-on-1 rush that started with a Tippett giveaway on a cross-ice pass attempt above the circles in the Ottawa zone. Boone Jenner's goal that made it 3-0 early in the second period was another transitional odd-man rush. This one began with a Travis Konecny cross-ice pass intended for Tony DeAngelo just inside the attacking blueline.
Later, both of Columbus' long-distance empty net goals came off pucks they intercepted in their defensive zone. These were less egregious (especially the final one) because it was late in the third period and, with the Flyers trailing, they had to take some gambles. Even so, going back to last season when opposing ENGs were virtually automatic because the Flyers habitually lost puck battles or directly turned over pucks on poorly executed 6-on-5s, the concluding minutes of Thursday's game brought back unpleasant reminders of how much work still lies ahead for the current Philadelphia squad.
2. Get an early jump on Ottawa.
The Senators are the Flyers' third straight opponent that enters the game feeling rather down on itself. The St. Louis Blues had lost seven in a row and were playing the second game of a back-to-back. The Blue Jackets, as noted above, had lost five games in a row before playing Philly.
Including their home loss to the Flyers last Saturday, the Senators come into this game winless in their last seven matches. Ottawa's most recent win was a 4-2 home victory over the Dallas Stars on Oct. 24.
When a team faces a vulnerable opponent, the No. 1 task is to take advantage as quickly as possible. Establish a forecheck early and (hopefully) force that team to chase the game. Exploit their frustration and pressure them into miscues that will begat unforced errors.
The Flyers did these things quite well in the St, Louis game right from the outset. Against Columbus, beyond a textbook opening shift of the first period in which the Blue Jackets were hemmed in their own end of the ice, the Flyers were soon the club that was gift-wrapping chances to the opponents' top players. The Blue Jackets seized the upper hand. Although the Flyers kept battling, they never caught up on the scoreboard.
Playing Ottawa for the second time on consecutive Saturdays, it will be imperative on the Flyers to make this game resemble the one against the Blues. The Senators have speed and skill in their lineup, and needing a combined 60 saves/blocks to scratch out a 2-1 win is not a process that the Flyers ought to rely on replicating to defeat Ottawa again.
3. Roll the lines or shorten the bench?
The Flyers are playing the first game of a back-to-back set of home matinee matches. It is also the second game of a three-in-four. As such, Tortorella ideally might be able to make more balanced use of his forward lines and defense pairs rather than burning the candle at both ends with the top of the lineup. Lately, he's been deploying the fourth forward line in particular very sparingly.
However, Tortorella is very much a "win the game that's in front of you and don't worry about tomorrow's game until later" type of coach. It will be interesting to see how things play out against Ottawa. If the Flyers can play from ahead, Tortorella may give additional minutes to players he's placed at the bottom end of the lineup. If it's a tight game, however, Tortorella might remain inclined to play his top-of-the-lineup group heavily in today's third period and then piece together player usage in Sunday's game against Dallas as it happens.
4. Flyers line combos could be juggled.
The Flyers did not practice on Friday. This was primarily because the team is in the midst of their three-in-four set and a rest day was more imperative than practice reps under the circumstances. However, Tortorella (who did not speak to the media after Thursday's game, leaving the task to associate coach Brad Shaw) was clearly and understandably displeased by what he saw in the Columbus game after the club gutted out a road win against the Senators and then delivered a strong all-around performance against St. Louis.
In the loss against Columbus, Owen Tippett was moved from the top line to Scott Laughton's line in the third period, while Joel Farabee (who generated an offensive zone entry and a secondary assist on the sequence that led to Ivan Provorov's goal that narrowed the gap to 3-2) was restored to the top line with Kevin Hayes and Travis Konecny. With no practice on Friday, it remains to be seen whether this in-game adjustment will carry over to the start of today's game.
Likewise, we do not yet know if there will be other changes in Tortorella's lineup. Kieffer Bellows has been scratched in each of the last three games after dressing in the first three following Philadelphia's waiver claim on the former New York Islanders' first round pick. Rookie defenseman Egor Zamula last dressed in the Nov. 5 game in Ottawa. He had some difficulties in that match with opposing attackers getting behind him and was limited to just 9:27 of ice time across 15 shifts.
The Flyers are likely to split the goaltending duties this weekend, especially in light of Hart just getting over an illness. He still wasn't feeling 100 percent on Thursday but was well enough to play. If Hart starts again in the Ottawa game, Felix Sandström will probably go against Dallas on Sunday.
Below are the Flyers' lineup combinations from the start of Thursday's game in Columbus. They are reference purposes only, because personnel and combinations could be different in today's game.
74 Owen Tippett - 13 Kevin Hayes - 11 Travis Konecny
86 Joel Farabee - 21 Scott Laughton - 57 Wade Allison
49 Noah Cates - 23 Lukas Sedlak - 17 Zack MacEwen
44 Nicolas Deslauriers - 48 Morgan Frost - 58 Tanner Laczynski
9 Ivan Provorov - 77 Tony DeAngelo
6 Travis Sanheim - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
24 Nick Seeler - 61 Justin Braun
79 Carter Hart
32 Felix Sandström
Available: 20 Kieffer Bellows, 54 Egor Zamula.
5. Behind Enemy Lines: Ottawa Senators
Shane Pinto, who had a breakaway opportunity against Hart last Saturday in Ottawa, scored a pair of goals (7th and 8th of the season) for Ottawa in Thursday's road game against the New Jersey Devils. Veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic also tallied for the Sens. However, that was only good enough for one point, as the Senators dropped a 4-3 overtime decision in Newark. The Senators are presently winless in their last seven games after previously rattling off four straight wins.
Through 13 games, Brady Tkachuk leads the Senators with 16 points (6g, 10a). He is followed by Drake Batherson's 13 points (4g, 9a), Giroux's 12 points (uncharacteristically with seven goals but a modest by his standards five assists), Tim Stützle's 11 points (4g, 7a), Alex DeBrincat's 11 points (2g, 9a) and Pinto's nine points (8g, 1a).
Last Saturday, the Senators' power play generated strong pressure against the Flyers but Philly managed to go 2-for-2. Even so, Ottawa enters this game connecting at a 21.3 percent clip (the Flyers, who did not have a single power play in the Columbus game, remain at 19.5 percent). The Senators' PK enters at 78.0 percent while the Flyers rank fourth in the NHL at 83.7 percent.
