The Philadelphia Flyers (23-17-8) were victorious their last time out against the Vegas Golden Knights, snapping their season long 6-game losing streak in the first of their 3-game road trip. Now they’ll set their sights towards winning back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of January with a visit to Utah.
Travis Konecny scored two unassisted breakaway goals, one of them being shorthanded, and Samuel Ersson stopped 24 shots as the Flyers defied the odds in Vegas with a massive victory. It snapped their losing streak that had seen them being outscored 31-12 with their power play clicking at 11.76%, and their penalty killing units having allowed 8 goals on 21 opportunities.
They’ve since dropped well out of a playoff spot as they’re currently on the outside looking in. The Flyers are now 5 points out of the second and final wild card spot with a game in hand, but are 3 points out of the third and final spot in the Metropolitan Division, having played the same amount of games as Pittsburgh.
With just 8 games remaining until the Olympic break, every game matters for a team looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2019-20. Their road trip ends on Friday in Colorado, but still have some tough games on the ledger remaining against the New York Islanders, Dallas Stars, and Washington Capitals.
A win over the Mammoth (25-20-4) could give them the momentum and confidence to finish the road trip off strong, but they’re going to need more firepower than just two unassisted Konecny breakaway goals.
As for the Mammoth, they should be well rested, having not played since Saturday, when they took down the Seattle Kraken for their third straight victory. They’re 7-2-1 over their last 10 games and are currently holding onto the top spot in the Western Conference’s wild card.
They are paced by Clayton Keller (33 assists and 46 points), Nick Schmaltz (18 goals and 44 points), Dylan Guenther (23 goals and 41 points), JJ Peterka (16 goals and 25 points), and Mikhail Sergachev (25 points).
In between the pipes, Karel Vejmelka has been a mainstay for most of the season, having started in 37 games. He enters tonight’s game with a 23-11-2 record to go along with 1 shutout, a 2.55 GAA, and a .902 SV%.
The Czechia native has started in 3 straight games and 11 of the Mammoth’s last 12, so he should be the projected starter for tonight’s game.
On the injury front, Utah has been relatively healthy outside of the absences of Logan Cooley and Alex Kerfoot, who are both on IR. The former has been sidelined since the 5th of December, and was a key contributor who the Mammoth have dearly missed, with 14 goals and 23 points in 29 games.
As for the Flyers, captain Sean Couturier missed yesterday’s practice due to maintenance, but is expected to suit up tonight. Nikita Grebenkin took his place in practice, indicating he would be a healthy scratch again with Lane Pederson remaining in the lineup.
However, earlier today head coach Rick Tocchet intimated that Grebenkin could slide back into the lineup in lieu of Carl Grundström, who was still on the ice well after their optional skate.
Ersson will get another start in the hopes that he can replicate his performance from Monday night. He is 7-8-4 on the season with a .860 SV% and a 3.30 GAA, and will be looking for his first win against Utah in his 3rd attempt, as he’s 0-1-1 with a .896 SV% and 3.44 GAA in his previous 2 games against them.
Philadelphia’s Projected Lineup:
#46 Trevor Zegras – #22 Christian Dvorak – #11 Travis Konecny
#52 Denver Barkey – #14 Sean Couturier – #74 Owen Tippett
#39 Matvei Michkov – #27 Noah Cates – #10 Bobby Brink
#29 Nikita Grebenkin – #25 Lane Pederson – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#36 Emil Andrae – #47 Noah Juulsen
#33 Sam Ersson
(#35 Aleksei Kolosov)
Utah’s Projected Lineup:
#9 Clayton Keller – #8 Nick Schmaltz – #67 Lawson Crouse
#77 JJ Peterka – #27 Barrett Hayton – #19 Daniil But
#53 Michael Carcone – #22 Jack McBain – #11 Dylan Guenther
#13 Brandon Taney – #82 Kevin Stenlund – #38 Liam O’Brien
#90 Mikhail Sergachev – #50 Sean Durzi
#88 Nate Schmidt – #6 John Marino
#28 Ian Cole – #57 Nick DeSimone
#70 Karel Vejmelka
(#41 Vitek Vaněček)
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