The Philadelphia Flyers (33-23-12) wrap up their three-game California takeover with a matchup against the San Jose Sharks (32-29-6) Saturday afternoon. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 4:00 pm/ET at SAP Center.
Based on their recent performances, the Flyers may not want to return home as they ride a six-game winning streak on the road. The Orange and Black won both of their previous two outings in the Golden State, knocking off Anaheim 3-2 in overtime then Los Angeles 4-3 via the shootout 24 hours later. The Flyers’ success extends farther back as they sustain an 8-3-1 record since the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics concluded.
With only 13 games remaining and the Flyers sitting five points out of a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, every point matters. A deserving amount of credit goes out to both Dan Vladař and Sam Ersson tending the crease on allowing the Flyers to even have themselves associated in the postseason consideration. Vladař is 5-3-1 with a 2.35 GAA and .913 SV% while Ersson showcases a 3-0-0 record on top of an impressive 1.75 GAA and .921 SV% post-Olympics.
“Vladdy’s been running high and been playing well. Sam’s done a good job when he hasn’t played for a couple then come in there and give us a solid start,” Rick Tocchet said.
Vladař is between the pipes for Philadelphia aiming to solidify consecutive wins for the first time since Feb 28-Mar 2. Vladař will try to emulate his display in net vs. the Ducks where he stopped 34 of 36 shots and add onto a formidable stretch of preventing three or more goals behind him in nine of his last 11 starts.
The Sharks enter the matchup hungry and try to smell blood in the water with the Flyers arriving in their tank. Aiding to a 4-1 defeat when the two clubs met in December, San Jose wants to come out hot after getting shutout in their prior contest at home against Buffalo. The Sharks dropped six of their previous eight showings and were outscored 32-21 over that downward spiral.
Despite the losing skid, San Jose is only two points out of a playoff spot in an inferior Western Conference.
If the Flyers want to assert themselves as another team to skate away with two points when facing the Sharks, the key for Philadelphia is figuring out their powerplay. The Flyers’ powerplay ranks dead last at 14.7% and cashed in once across its 24 prior attempts. Although the Orange and Black are banged up, they still have caliber players on the special teams units that for whatever reason can’t buy a goal.
The Flyers skated 11 forwards and seven defensemen during the Kings matchup. In a dyer move, Emil Andrae was used as a center which he’d never played before. It’s expected that Philadelphia will repeat the same line combinations against the Sharks.
Philadelphia’s Injury Report:
- Rodrigo Ābols (ankle)
- Tyson Foerster (arm)
- Sean Couturier (upper-body)
- Luke Glendening (lower-body)
- Denver Barkey (upper-body)
San Jose’s Injury Report:
- Tyler Toffoli (lower-body)
- Ty Dellandrea (lower-body)
- Vincent Desharnais (upper-body) *game-time decision*
- Yaroslav Askarov (lower-body)
- Igor Chernyshov (concussion)
Philadelphia’s Player to Watch: Noah Cates
Cates has broken out of his 18-game scoreless rut and is executing on a nightly basis now. He leads the Flyers in points following the break with 11 in 12 contests. Cates pocketed two goals on the road trip so far, including the overtime winner in Anaheim while accumulating two more points Thursday against the Kings. There’s also chemistry forming between Cates and Matvei Michkov as the duo are a combined +5 in California.
“He’s playing really well. He’s really solid. He’s one of the best guys to coach. He’s a culture guy and you can just tell he’s playing really well for us right now,” Tocchet said.
San Jose’s Player to Watch: Macklin Celebrini
There’s no sophomore slump taking place in regard to Celebrini. The 19-year-old is sitting five points from hitting 100 on the year and is leading Will Smith, second on the Sharks in points, by 50. Celebrini has been kept off the scoresheet in his past two games, but he poses a threat anytime he’s out on the ice. He generated 3.3 shots on goal per game since returning from the Olympics which he recorded 10 points at while representing Team Canada.
Philadelphia’s Projected Lines:
#20 Alex Bump – #22 Christian Dvorak – #11 Travis Konecny
#29 Nikita Grebenkin – #46 Trevor Zegras – #74 Owen Tippett
#91 Carl Grundström – #27 Noah Cates – #39 Matvei Michkov
#10 Garrett Wilson – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#6 Travis Sanheim – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#8 Cam York – #9 Jamie Drysdale
#24 Nick Seeler – #47 Noah Juulsen
#36 Emil Andrae
#80 Dan Vladař
(#33 Sam Ersson)
San Jose’s Projected Lines:
#96 Philipp Kurashev – #71 Macklin Celebrini – #2 Will Smith
#72 William Eklund – #77 Michael Misa – #44 Kiefer Sherwood
#51 Collin Graf – #21 Alexander Wennberg – #81 Adam Gaudette
#23 Barclay Goodrow – #63 Zack Ostapchuk – #75 Ryan Reaves
#9 Dmitry Orlov – #3 John Klingberg
#38 Mario Ferraro – #85 Shakir Mukhamadullin
#6 Sam Dickinson – #4 Nick Leddy
#33 Alex Nedeljkovic
(#93 Laurent Brossoit)
