The Philadelphia Flyers (7-5-1) are back in action on Thursday when they face off against the Nashville Predators (5-6-4) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, at 8:00 p.m. EST.
Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet put an emphasis on creating traffic and getting bodies in front of the goal. That is exactly what the Flyers got in their bounce-back 5-4 shootout win vs. the Canadiens on Tuesday.
The Flyers have won three of their previous five games, including the last meeting between the two teams. Four of the Flyers’ last six wins have come from either the shootout or overtime.
Nashville heads into Thursday night’s action following back-to-back overtime losses and is a loser of four out of its last five. Justus Annunen got the last start for the Predators in goal, so it’s safe to assume Juuse Saros will get the start in goal.
For the Flyers, it was Dan Vladar last time. Sam Ersson is expected to return sooner rather than later, as he is practicing more and more. He has yet to be activated, so Vladar should be expected to get the start.
Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up on Thursday.
Read More: Flyers Analysis: Tocchet’s Message Lands in Gritty 5-4 Win vs. Canadiens
Flyers Lines & Pairs vs. Predators
Forwards
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Nikita Grebenkin – Noah Cates – Travis Konecny
Rodrigo Abols – Jacob Gaucher – Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen
Goaltenders
Dan Vladar
Aleksei Kolosov
Special Teams
PP1: Drysdale, Cates, Zegras, Tippett, Brink
PP2: York, Couturier, Konecny, Dvorak, Michkov
PK1: Couturier, Konecny, Seeler, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Hathaway,York, Juulsen
Things to Watch
With Tyson Foerster remaining on IR, and the offense finds some sort of groove on Tuesday vs. Montreal, expect the lines to remain somewhat similar, if not identical, to those against the Canadiens. I’d expect Rodrigo Abols to draw back in, but that is the only change I’d expect.
With that, I want to, again, keep an eye on the Dvorak line. It has everything a good line needs, and they were clicking earlier in the season.
Despite being left off the scoresheet, I actually thought Matvei Michkov had a good game against the Canadiens. He has looked better with each game, and it feels like a breakout has to be on the horizon. On Tuesday, Michkov was making great setup plays. Unfortunately, there was nobody home to bury them. Maybe more emphasis will be put on waiting for someone to make those plays. Or, it could be flipped, and there could be an emphasis on being there for Michkov’s passes. Regardless, look for some of those to break through on Thursday.
The starter in goal is another thing I want to watch. I assume Vladar will get the nod with Ersson trending to return for Saturday. Vladar has struggled in his past two starts. This could be a bounce-back start for him. On the other hand, the Flyers could view Nashville, a weaker opponent, as one last chance to give Aleksei Kolosov a start before heading back to Lehigh. So far, Kolosov has looked good in his brief stint.
Previous Matchup
The last time these two teams met, the Flyers defeated the Predators by a 4-1 score. It was Trevor Zegras who stole the show offensively, scoring twice and earning the secondary assist on Jamie Drysdale’s second-period goal. Travis Konecny also scored, finding the empty net.
The Flyers managed to score four goals on a total of 18 shots. While the Flyers came away with a decisive win, for most of the game, it felt like they were being dominated. It was Dan Vladar who stood tall, giving one of his best performances in a Flyers sweater. Vladar stopped 32 of Nashville’s 33 shots in that game.
It was a performance where Rick Tocchet described Vladar as the team’s “smelling salts”.
How will the Flyers do against Nashville this time around?
How to Watch Flyers @ Predators
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+ (stream)
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
The puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.