Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (35-24-10) are in the Motor City on Saturday night to take on Todd McLellan's Detroit Red Wings (39-25-8). In a rare scheduling quirk, this is the first game of the season series between the two Eastern Conference teams.
Game time on Saturday is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be nationally televised on ABC.
With 11 games remaining in the regular season schedule, the Flyers will play the Red Wings frequently over the rest of the campaign. After Saturday's game in Detroit, the teams will face off again on April 2 at Xfinity Mobile Arena and then again back at Little Caesars Arena on April 9.
Saturday's game is a virtual must-win for both teams -- but especially for the Flyers -- if they are to stay in the hunt for an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
The Red Wings opened their current back-to-back set with a 5-2 road win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. Detroit broke loose for three goals in the first period to put themselves in the driver's seat. Alex DeBrincat led the way on Saturday with a power play goal (36th) and two assists.
Philadelphia enters Saturday's game coming off a comfortable 5-1 home win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. The Flyers scored in the opening minute of the game and held a 2-0 lead by the 2:33 mark.
Entering Saturday's game, the Flyers have two different potential avenues into the playoffs. In order to finish third in the Metropolitan Division, Philadelphia would have to make up a six-point gap (five standings points plus an extra point to overcome a tiebreaker disadvantage) between themselves and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Flyers would also have to pass the New York Islanders (five points plus a tiebreaker disadvantage) in the process.
If the Flyers (82 standings points) are unable to do that, they could still get into the playoffs via a wildcard berth. That would require passing three teams: the Red Wings (86 points), the Ottawa Senators (86 points) and Islanders (87 points) in total points.
Realistically -- although not mathematically -- the Flyers need a regulation win over the Red Wings on Saturday and a victory by any means (regulation, overtime or shootout) against the Dallas Stars on Sunday.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday in Detroit.
1. Between the pipes
With a back-to-back set this weekend, the Flyers will almost certainly split the goaltending chores between Dan Vladar (23-12-7, 2.43 GAA, .907 SV%) and Samuel Ersson (12-10-5, 3.20 GAA, .867 SV%). The Flyers have split back-to-backs all season and are unlikely to deviate now. Ersson is coming off a strong start against Chicago and has played well overall since the Olympic break. Vladar, the probable favorite for the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the team's most valuable player, has been a rock of consistency all season.
For Detroit, veteran John Gibson (27-17-3, 2.54 GAA, .907 SV%) earned the win over Buffalo on Friday. An ex-Fyer, fellow veteran Cam Talbot (12-8-5, 3.03 GAA, .891) last played in a March 8 relief outing and last started on March 4.
2. Captain Coots
Flyers captain Sean Couturier (nine goals, 31 points, 53.6 percent on faceoffs) has recently seen hybrid duties on the fourth line, switching off between left wing and his more customary center spot with trade deadline waiver acquisition Luke Glendening (one goal, four points in seven games since joining the Flyers). Glendening, of course, is best known for his eight-season stint with the Red Wings.
Two-time Selke Trophy finalist Couturier has struggled offensively for most of the season. However, he has come on recently with goals in back-to-back games and three tallies in his last seven games. More importantly, the revised fourth line with Couturier, Glendening and Garnet Hathaway, has been effective on the forecheck and setting a productive tone for other lines to take into subsequent shifts.
3. Quick Start
It's no secret that the Flyers have struggled to score first for the majority of the season. First periods in general have rarely produced leads for Philly. However, the Flyers have scored the game's first goal in each of their last two matches. When taking a lead to the first intermission, the Flyers are 15-1-3. Unfortunately, the one regulation loss came in Tuesday's 3-2 defeat at the hands of Columbus. When leading after two periods, the Flyers are 20-0-3.
Detroit is 16-1-1 when taking a lead to the first intermission. When leading at the end of the second period, the Red Wings are 26-2-3.
4. The Larkin factor
Red Wings team captain Dylan Larkin, an Olympic gold medalist with Team USA, recently returned from injury to the Detroit lineup. He logged 22-plus minutes of all-situation ice time in games against Ottawa and Buffalo. The speedy 29-year-old center also scored a goal against the Senators and chipped in an assist in the win over the Sabres.
Larkin (29 goals, 57 points in 65 games played) does not lead the Red Wings in scoring. That honor goes to Debrincat (36 goals, 77 points) and Lucas Raymond (70 points including 47 assists). Defenseman Moritz Seider (51 points, +22 rating) drives play on breakouts and pinches in from the point. Nevertheless, Larkin remains the Red Wings number one overall catalyst. As he goes, so go the Red Wings on most nights.
