The Philadelphia Flyers (24-19-9) have a quick turnaround, as they follow up their 5-3 loss vs. the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday by traveling to Boston to take on the Bruins (31-20-3) at TD Garden on Thursday.
It was a rough loss for the Flyers, with really only two players stepping up. The rest of the team either blended into the game or, worse, stood out for the wrong reasons. Wednesday’s loss makes the Flyers’ recent stretch look even worse, as they are now 2-7-1 over their last 10 games, including 2-2-1 over the last five.
The Bruins, on the other hand, have had the exact opposite type of stretch. They are 8-1-1 over their last 10 games, and 3-1-1 in their last five. Last season was clearly a fluke for the B’s, as they are right back to their dominant, postseason-expecting ways.
It will be another challenging task for the Flyers, who will look to end another losing streak before it really begins. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at TD Garden. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.
Read More: Flyers Grades: Konecny, Vladar Shine, Defensive Effort Falters in Wednesday Loss
Flyers lines & pairs @ Blue Jackets
Forwards
Trevor Zegras–Christian Dvorak–Nikita Grebenkin
Denver Barkey–Sean Couturier–Owen Tippett
Matvei Michkov–Noah Cates–Bobby Brink
Carl Grundtsrom–Lane Pederson–Garnet Hathaway
Defensemen
Cam York–Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler–Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae–Noah Juulsen
Goalies
Sam Ersson
Dan Vladar
Special Teams
PP1:Â Drysadale, Dvorak, Grebenkin, Brink, Zegras
PP2:Â York, Cates, Barkey, Tippett, Michkov
PK1:Â Cates, Tippett, York, Sanheim
PK 2: Hathaway, Dvorak, Seeler, Juulsen
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Game Notes
Back-to-backs have not been too kind to the Flyers in recent years. I would not expect a road back-to-back to be any easier. As if the Bruins were not a challenging enough opponent, you add that factor, and it does not look good.
However, when I think it will be a rough game, the team proves me wrong. The Colorado game is a prime example of such. So, we will see. On paper, it will be a tough one.
Looking at the lineup, Rick Tocchet had noted that Travis Konecny played through injury on Wednesday. He took a puck to his skate, according to Tocchet. You could see the winger in visible pain at the end of the second period, but he braved through the pain and finished the game. Postgame, he noted that Konecny was limping around and that he may not play on Thursday. For that reason, I would expect Nikita Grebenkin to slot into the lineup.
With Ristolainen exiting Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury, I would expect him to come out of the lineup. That will likely revert the pairs back to normal-ish, with Emil Andrae slotting back in.
And for the player between the pipes, Dan Vladar just returned from injury. He played well last night. However, do you rush him right into back-to-back games? Or, do you put Sam Ersson back in? I lean towards Ersson in this instance.
How to watch Flyers @ Bruins
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+, ESPN+ (Stream)
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at TD Garden in Boston.
Read More: Rasmus Ristolainen Exits Wednesday’s Game vs. Blue Jackets with InjuryÂ