In the fifth game of a six-game homestand, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-3) will host Bruce Cassidy's Vegas Golden Knights (14-9-6). This is the first of two meetings between the interconference teams and the lone game in Philadelphia.
Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena is 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be nationally televised on ESPN.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a solid 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday evening. Christian Dvorak (7th goal of the season), Carl Grundstrom (1st), Noah Cates (7th) and Travis Konecny (ENG, 8th) scored for Philly. Dan Vladar (17 saves) earned the win in goal with several key saves.
Vegas is 7-2-5 on the road to date and 5-2-3 over the last 10 games. Thursday's match is the fourth of a five-game road trip. The Golden Knights are 2-0-1 on the trip to date.
On Tuesday, Cassidy's club earned one point in a 5-4 (1-0) shootout loss to the New York Islanders. Pavel Dorofeyev's goal (12th) at 19:46 of the third period forced overtime. First period goals by Noah Hanafin (2nd) and Mitch Marner (6th) built an early 2-0 lead before the match turned into a seesaw contest. Vegas later trailed by scores of 3-2 and 4-3.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Thursday in Philly.
1. Transition game
The Golden Knights are one of the NHL's biggest and heaviest teams, especially on their blue line. It's hard to outgrind Vegas if the game becomes a contest of muscle. However, if an opponent can attack with pace, especially in transition, Vegas is a little more vulnerable.
2. Special teams
The Flyers have slipped out of the NHL's top-10 penalty killing teams this season. They are currently 11th at 81.8 percent efficiency. Philly went 2-for-2 against San Jose on Tuesday.
The Vegas power play is formidable. The Golden Knights enter this game ranked 7th in the league at 23.9 percent efficiency.
Meanwhile, the Flyers power play ranks 22nd at a 17.9 percent success rate. The Vegas PK ranks 16th at 80.8 percent efficiency.
3. Couturier and 200-foot play
Tocchet still relies heavily on team captain Sean Couturier to set the tone for playing a responsible game on both sides of the puck. The Flyers also need him to win the majority of his faceoffs. Against the likes of Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner and Co., lapses in attention to detail can be fatal. Couturier, whether he gets on the score sheet or not, is still a vital piece of the puzzle in games against top opponents like Vegas.
4. Shot and chance suppression
They aren't infallible but the Flyers have greatly improved in these areas this season. Meanwhile, only the Carolina Hurricanes (Philly's next opponent after Vegas) has allowed fewer shots per game than the Golden Knights. Vegas will make the Flyers work for their shot opportunities. Philly, in turn, needs to make sure they get pucks on net when there's a lane and be equally stingy in minimizing time and space for Vegas.
