Flyers Game 72: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch @ Red Wings

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After a dominating 5-1 win vs. the Blackhawks on Thursday, the Philadelphia Flyers (35-24-12) are back in a playoff-like environment on Saturday, taking on the Detroit Red Wings (39-25-8) on the road at Little Caesars Arena.

The Flyers bounced back from a gut-wrenching loss on Tuesday with a big win on Thursday. Philadelphia has points in four of its last five, and is 4-1- 0 in that span. The Flyers are 7-2-1 over the last 10, playing some of their best hockey of the season.

Detroit is ahead of the Flyers in the Wild Card standings, but has sort of fallen off, really, since the trade deadline. The Red Wings are 3-2-0 in their last five, but 4-5-1 over the last 10. They are coming off a big 5-2 road win over the Buffalo Sabres, which could help swing momentum back in their favor.

Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. EST at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

Read More: Flyers Scoring Outburst Leads to Bounce-Back Win vs. Blackhawks on Thursday

Flyers lines & pairs @ Red Wings​

Forwards

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

Defensemen

Travis Sanheim–Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York–Jamie Drysdale
Nick Seeler–Emil Andrae

Goaltenders

Dan Vladar
Sam Ersson

Special Teams
PP1: Ristolainen, Cates, Zegras, Konecny, Michkov
PP2: Drysdale, Sanheim, Dvorak, Barkey, Tippett

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

Read More: Flyers Sign Towering NCAA Free Agent Center

Game Notes​

Let’s start with the goaltender. Sam Ersson picked up the start vs. Chicago on Thursday. It feels like a safe expectation that Dan Vladar will play between the pipes on Saturday. It’s the first of a back-to-back, so we’ll probably see both netminders this weekend. However, Saturday’s game is a big one for the playoff picture, plus it’s on the road. This should be a Dan Vladar game.

Looking at the lineup, Jamie Drysdale played what was probably the most effective game of his NHL career on Thursday vs. the Blackhawks. Sure, the weaker opponent probably helped, but this season, we’ve watched Drysdale really develop into the player he was once expected to be. I am keeping a close watch on him to see if he can keep it up under the bright lights of a playoff-like environment.

The Dvorak line was really grooving on Thursday. I mean, so was every line, but Christian Dvorak and Alex Bump had very, very good games. If I were to put a focus on one specific line for Saturday, it’d be them.

As for a specific player, Matvei Michkov looked like the same dynamic playmaking forward he was last season on Thursday. Every time he touched the puck, something good happened. Noah Cates finished on one of the opportunities created by Michkov. On Saturday, I’d like to see if Michkov can make some things happen for himself and score his first goal since March 9th vs. the Rangers.

The Red Wings played in Buffalo on Friday night and dominated the Sabres 5-2. They travel back to Detroit for their Saturday meeting with the Flyers. I wonder if Detroit will be a bit tired on Saturday, or if they’ll be riding the high of now just being a point back of the playoffs.

How to Watch Flyers @ Red Wings​

TV: ABC
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Puck drop is at 8:00 p.m. EST at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

Read More: PhHN Daily: Flyers Cruise; Martone’s Big Game; Crosby Injured vs. Senators

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