Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (22-17-8) begin a tough road trip on Monday as they are in Nevada to take on Bruce Cassidy's Vegas Golden Knights (21-17-9). This is the second and final meeting of the season series between the two teams.
Game time at T-Mobile Arena is 8:00 p.m. EST. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP+.
The Flyers enter this game needing to turn the page on a six-game winless streak (0-5-1). On Saturday, the Flyers absorbed a 6-3 home loss to the New York Rangers. The turning point of the game was an 80-second span in the first period where a short-lived 1-0 Flyers lead turned into a 3-1 deficit. In a losing cause, Travis Konecny (15th goal of the season), Travis Sanheim (SHG, 6th) and Trevor Zegras (19th) scored for the Flyers.
The Golden Knights bring a seven-game winning streak and eight-game point streak (7-0-1) into Monday's match. The team has garnered 15 of 18 possible points so far in January. Most recently, on Saturday, the club earned a 7-2 win over the Nashville Predators. Vegas exploded for five goals in the third period. In the process, Mark Stone extended his personal point streak to 11 straight games. Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore posted a goal and an assist apiece.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch in Monday's game.
1. Reset the process
The Flyers have been besieged with adversity over the last 11 days. It started with Scott Laughton's shorthanded goal in the latter stages of the third period in a 2-1 overtime loss to Toronto on Jan. 8. Since that time, the Flyers have been outscored by a combined 29-11 margin over the last five games.
Rather than breaking down each individual area that's been a trouble spot -- puck management, goaltending, both ends of special teams, structural breakdowns, etc. -- the problems can be summarized this way: The entire process needs a reset. It has to be done as an entire team.
2. Between the pipes
Flyers No. 1 goaltender Dan Vladar accompanied the team to Las Vegas for the start of the trip. Tocchet said late last week that the only way Vladar would make the trip was if there was a chance he'd be able to return from his injury during the trip. However, Vladar did not participate in Sunday's practice. Consequently, at least at the start of the trip, the goaltending duties will still be split between Samuel Ersson and Aleksei Kolosov.
Ersson (6-8-4, 3.43 GAA, .855 save percentage) has struggled for much of the season to date. He relieved Kolosov in the first period of Saturday's game after the Rangers scored on each of their first three shots of the game. In fairness to Kolosov (0-2-0, 4.00 GAA, .830 SV%) two of the three goals he allowed were due to massive breakdowns in front of him. The middle goal was a routine shot that the netminder misplayed. Kolosov (22 saves on 25) was victimized by three additional breakdowns in front of him but his overall performance was at a baby step in the right direction after having several rough outings of his own.
Heading into this game, the mantra for the Flyers' goalie and skaters is to make Vegas earn whatever offense they generate. Vegas has plenty of dangerous players as is (even before the addition of defenseman Rasmus Andersson in a trade with Calgary on Sunday). The Flyers can ill-afford to gift chances and goals to Jack Eichel and company.
3. Brink potential return
Flyers winger Bobby Brink seems poised to return from the upper-body injury he suffered in the first period of the January 6 win against the Anaheim Ducks. He's missed each of the last five games although he's participated in several practices. He now appears ready to get back into the lineup after being a full participant on Sunday's practice. If Philly starts the game with the same combinations that appeared in Sunday's practice, Brink (11g, 9a) will be reunited with regular linemate Noah Cates (10g, 15a). Matvei Michkov (10g, 14a) skated on left wing with Cates on Sunday.
4. Pederson's Flyers debut
Rodrigo Abols sustained a lower body injury in Saturday's game. He was placed on Injured Reserve the next day. The Flyers recalled 28-year-old Lane Pederson from the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Pederson has appeared in 71 career NHL games, most recently as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2022-23. Pederson and Tocchet are familiar with one another from their time together with the Arizona Coyotes.
The injured Rasmus Ristolainen did not accompany the team on the road trip. The Flyers recalled prospect Hunter McDonald from the Phantoms for the road trip. Tocchet indicated on Sunday that McDonald could make his NHL debut at some point later during the trip.
