Aiming to advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers take on Dan Muse's Pittsburgh Penguins at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday night. The Flyers lead the series thus far, three games to zero.
Game time is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised locally on NBC Sports Philadelphia and nationally on TBS, TRUTV and HBO MAX.
On Wednesday, the Flyers captured a 5-2 victory in a feisty Game Three. The Flyers trailed for the first time in the series, as the Penguins took a 1-0 lead to the first intermission. A three-goal explosion in the second period triggered an avalanche of momentum the Flyers rode to the final horn.
Trevor Zegras (power play goal, 1st), Rasmus Ristolainen (1st), Nick Seeler (1st), Noah Cates (PPG, 1st) and Owen Tippett (ENG, 1st) scored for the Flyers. Evgeni Malkin (PPG, 2nd) and Erik Karlsson (PPG, 1st) had the goals for the Penguins.
In goal, Dan Vladar battled through physical discomfort in the latter part of the game. He made 27 saves on 29 shots to earn the win. Pittsburgh netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 24 of 28 shots before the Tippett empty netter.
The Flyers had a full practice on Thursday at the FTC in Voorhees. On Friday, a few players skated on their own but it was officially a team off day. Several banged-up players took one or both days off as much-needed maintenance days. A win on Saturday would add rest and recuperation time before the next time the Flyers play a playoff game.
Emil Andrae (day-to-day) practiced on Thursday after missing Game Three the previous night. Based off the practice skater line combinations, veteran defenseman Noah Juulsen seems more likely to dress for the second straight game in the series.
Tocchet has admitted that Tippett and York are both among the banged-up players on the team. However, both are expected once again to be able to play on game day.
On the Pittsburgh end, the Penguins juggled their lineup combinations a bit in Game Three. Most notably, Justin Brazeau entered the lineup for the first time in the series, replacing Elmer Soderblom.
The Penguins took an official off-day on Thursday. They practiced in Voorhees on Friday. At the Pittsburgh session, Soderblom appeared poised to return for Saturday's game ahead of Brazeau. On the blueline, rookie Ilya Solovyev was paired with veteran Ryan Shea. The Russian defenseman, if he plays, would most likely replace Connor Clifton.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch in Game Four.
1. Between the Pipes: Eyes on Vladar
Vladar shrugged off two mishaps during the latter portion of Thursday's game. First, he appeared uncomfortable after losing his skate blade, and moving to push off laterally. Later, he appeared to favor his right arm after Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust fell on top of him.
The Czech Olympic goalie finished off Game Three. He was unavailable for interviews after the game. Through Tocchet, the player reported feeling better on Thursday. He took maintenance days on both Thursday and Friday.
Officially, Vladar's availability on Saturday is a game-day decision. The morning skate at Xfinity Mobile Arena (10:30 a.m. EDT) will be telling. If Vladar does not play, Samuel Ersson will make his NHL playoff debut, backed up by Belarusian netminder Aleksei Kolosov.
On the Pittsburgh end, Skinner is healthy. He's played fine overall through the first three games. He'd perhaps have liked back two of the nine goals he's yielded but he's also held his team in games with multiple saves on breakaways and 2-on-1 rushes.
If Muse elects a change in net in an effort to shake up things, young Latvian netminder Arturs Silovs would get the call.
2. Discipline and special teams
The Flyers broke even on special teams in Games One and Three (0-0 and 2-2). Philly won the special teams battle (1-0) in Game Two on the strength of a Garnet Hathaway shorthanded goal.
That has been a major reason why the Flyers lead the series, three games to none. Philly has been the superior team overall at five-on-five, so special teams and 4-on-4 situations are critical junctures for the Penguins if Pittsburgh is to climb back into the series.
Overall, the Flyers are 2-for-10 on the power play in the series. They are 10-for-12 on the penalty kill including the aforementioned shorthanded goal.
3. Michkov watch
Matvei Michkov led the Flyers in regular season scoring after the Olympic break with 22 points (7g, 15a) over the final 26 games. However, it's been tough sledding for the 21-year-old right winger in his first three career NHL playoff games.
As happened at times during the regular season, Michkov has gotten himself into penalty trouble (namely in Game Two). He's also been on the wrong side of the puck on a couple of Pittsburgh scoring chances. His shifts and ice time have been limited as a result: 18 shifts (11:25 TOI) in Game One, 13 shifts (9:32 TOI) in Game Two, and 13 shifts (8:08 TOI) in Game Three.
At Thursday's practice, Michkov practiced as usual with the Noah Cates line and the second power play unit. However, he stayed out after practice with the Black Aces for extra reps on the Phantoms' rink.
Likewise, rookie Denver Barkey took extra skating on Thursday. He had a strong Game One in Pittsburgh but struggled at times in the next two games and sat for lengthy stretches. Barkey skated on his own on the Flyers' rink at the FTC on Thursday.
The Flyers do not necessarily look to Barkey for offensive production. However, they will need it at some point from Michkov and Tyson Foerster. Both players are still looking for their first goal or assist of the series.
4. Offense from the back end
Heading into this series, the Penguins held an on-paper edge in the ability to get offensive contributions from their defensemen: Karlsson (15 regular season goals, 66 points), longtime Flyers nemesis Kris Letang (34 points this season), Shea (35 points, +30) and company.
However, so far in the series, the Flyers have been more dynamic in activating their defensemen to join the attack. Philly has also done a better job at getting shots through from the point with traffic at the net.
As a result: the Flyers have gotten four goals from defensemen (one tally apiece for Travis Sanheim, Jamie Drysdale, Ristolainen and Seeler). Karlsson's Game Three power play goal was the first Pittsburgh goal from the defense in the series.
Karlsson (1g, 1a) has two points in the series to date. No other Pittsburgh defensemen have any points thus far. Conversely, Ristolainen (1g, 2a), Drysdale (1g, 2a), Juulsen (2a), Sanheim (1g), and Seeler (1g) have all found their way onto the scoresheet over the first three games.
