Looking for their fourth win in a row, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers' (3-6-3) are home on Saturday afternoon to play Joel Quenneville's Anaheim Ducks (4-6-0). This is the first of two meetings this season between the clubs.
Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena is 1:00 p.m. EDT. The broadcast game is on NBCSP.
On Wednesday in Buffalo, the Flyers skated to a 3-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Rookie winger Cole Knuble scored the first two goals of his NHL career, sandwiched around a Trevor Zegras (3rd) power play goal. Dan Vladar made 27 saves for the victory.
Anaheim, meanwhile, is very hungry for a victory. They are playing their fourth game within six nights. It's the final game of their four-game road trip. The trip has been rough so far: 5-2 loss to the Rangers (Monday), 3-2 loss to the Islanders (Tuesday), and 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Devils (Thursday). Overall, Anaheim has lost five games in a row; all in regulation.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday afternoon.
1. Michkov point streak
Young Flyers winger Matvei Michkov has scored at least one goal in each of the team's last four games (4g-2a-6 points). If he records a point against the Ducks, Michkov will match the longest point streak in his NHL career to date.
2. Special teams
The Flyers have scored a power play marker in each of the last three games. The adjustment to move Zegras from the right half boards to the left has paid dividends so far. Overall, the Flyers rank 26th in the NHL with a 13.9 percent success rate. The Ducks are 77.1 percent (ranked 21st) on the penalty kill so far.
Philly allowed a power play goal to Buffalo in Wednesday's game. Overall, the Flyers rank seventh in the NHL at 83.3 percent success. Anaheim's power play has connected at a 21.9 percent success rate (17th)
3. Controlled aggression
In each of the two years, the Flyers have captured emotional and convincing wins when the Ducks have come to town. The crowd has been raucous, especially in making sure Cutter Gauthier does not enjoy his time in Philly. The games have also turned very chippy. On Saturday, the Flyers' challenge is to feed off the home crowd energy and their own emotions but keep focused on the bigger goal of winning the hockey game.
4. Between the pipes
Excluding opening night, the Philadelphia Flyers' goaltending duo of Joseph Woll and Dan Vladar have combined for a 4-5-1 record, a 2.80 Goals Against Average (GAA), and a .907 Save Percentage (SV%).
