Flyers Game 70: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Blue Jackets

It’s another must-win game for the Philadelphia Flyers and their playoff push. On Tuesday, the Flyers (34-23-12) host the Columbus Blue Jackets (37-22-11) at Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philadelphia.

Columbus is a team that the Flyers are right on the tail of, as far as the playoff race goes. At 85 points, the Blue Jackets are in third place in the Metropolitan Division, 5 points ahead of the Flyers. The Flyers do have a game in hand.

Columbus has been a completely different team since making the switch to Rick Bowness behind the bench. They just recently had a 12-game point streak snapped, and are winners of four of the last five. They’re 6-1-3 over the last 10 games.

The Flyers have been playing some pretty good hockey themselves, keeping them right in the conversation. They are returning from a three-game California road trip that they swept, and have points in their last six games. Philadelphia is 4-0-1 over the last five games, and 7-2-1 over the last 10.

It is a big game on Tuesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

Flyers lines & pairs vs. Blue Jackets

Forwards

Alex Bump–Christian Dvorak–Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey–Trevor Zegras–Owen Tippett
Carl Grundstrom–Noah Cates–Matvei Michkov
Nikita Grebenkin–Sean Couturier–Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Travis Sanheim–Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York–Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler–Noah Juulsen

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson

Special Teams
PP1: Drysadale, Zegras, Konecny, Dvorak, Tippett
PP2: York, Ristolainen, Cates, Michkov, Bump

PK1: Cates, Konecny, York, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Tippett, Seeler, Ristolainen

Game Notes

The injury bug hit the Flyers on the road. After the first game of the road trip, Sean Couturier, Denver Barkey, and Luke Glendening each missed the next two games. After returning home, the three players took part in an optional practice, but Rick Tocchet still called them day-to-day. On Tuesday, they each skated at morning skate. Barkey played on the second line and looks to be in. The 4th line rotated a bit.

If I had to make a hunch, I’d say one of Glendening or Couturier plays. Tuesday’s game is too big not to have four centers on the ice. That said, one of the two centers should return. I’d lean Couturier.

After playing forward for a depleted roster during the final two games of the road trip, Emil Andrae looks to be taking a seat in the press box vs. Columbus. His minutes were low, probably because he was playing out of position. Before having to play forward, I thought Andrae was playing some pretty good hockey. A bit of a head scratcher to me.

With the magnitude of the game, it’s safe to assume Dan Vladar gets the nod in goal on Tuesday. Sam Ersson started the game in LA, which would make this just Vladar’s second consecutive start. This is a must-win game; the Flyers will want their top goalie between the pipes.

Now, playoff odds time! Per MoneyPuck, this is a pretty big one for the Flyers. They enter the game with a 12% chance of making the playoffs. A regulation win jumps that to 18.2%, where a regulation loss drops their odds significantly to 6.3%. They currently give the Blue Jackets a 76.1% chance to make the playoffs. If the Flyers beat them in regulation, that drops to 64.6%. The key to this game for both teams is not to allow the other to earn a point.

How to Watch Flyers vs. Blue Jackets

TV: Hulu (Stream), ESPN+ (Stream)
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Flyers Game 70: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Blue Jackets

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