Flying Forward: Weekly Preview 3.3.19-3.9.19
The Philadelphia Flyers look to stay in the playoff race and to do that they will need to win some games within the Metropolitan Division. The team will face the New York Islanders twice on the road this week and the Washington Capitals at home on Wednesday night.
1) Sunday, Mar. 3 @ Islanders- 3 p.m. ET
The New York Islanders have been the biggest surprise this season and Head Coach Barry Trotz will likely win the Jack Adams Award for the League’s best coach. The Islanders have a big advantage over the Flyers at even strength play and goaltending.
The Flyers Will Win If…
The team can get off to a fast start and not look back. The Flyers are going to need to be ready from the drop of the puck for this one since the Coliseum will likely be rocking. The Islanders are coming off of a loss and are looking to get some points to start pulling away from the Capitals. The Flyers will need to limit their turnovers because the Islanders will take advantage of sloppy play.
Matchup of the Game
The Flyers are going to have to be very good at even strength since the Islanders have only given up 93 even strength goals this season. The Flyers are on the opposite end of the spectrum having given up 142 even strength goals. The Orange and Black need to make sure that they play a good defensive game and that the gaps between forwards and defensemen are good. The team should try to support each other and not try to force plays or make the dangerous clear up the middle of the ice.
Game Prediction
The Flyers will get a point out of this game but will lose 3-2 in overtime. The goaltending for each team will be good and make this game go the extra session. The Islanders goals come from Anders Lee, Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal. The Flyers goals are scored by Sean Couturier and James van Riemsdyk
2) Wednesday, Mar. 6 vs. Capitals- 7:30 p.m. ET – NBCSN
The Washington Capitals have struggled this season, but are still battling it out with the Islanders for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers and the Capitals both have weak penalty kills so the teams will want to avoid the penalty box. The Capitals also have the goaltending advantage over the Orange and Black.
The Flyers Will Win If…
They can manage to stay out of the penalty box since they have the 28th ranked penalty kill. The Flyers’ goaltending will need to come up big and make saves to keep the team in the game. The team needs to get plenty of shots on net with traffic in front of the goalie to take his eyes away. This would be a good game to get some power play goals since the Capitals’ penalty kill is at 79.3% for the season and has been a weak spot.
Matchup of the Game
The special teams could potentially play a pivotal role in this game. The Flyers’ power play has been much better recently but the Capitals have a dangerous one ranked in the top 10 of the NHL. The Capitals power play units can both produce; whereas, the Flyers power play production has mostly come from the top unit, but the second unit has been chipping in of late. The penalty kill of both teams has been pretty bad this season and both are operating at under 80%, but the Capitals have the slight advantage with having killed penalties at a better clip than the Flyers.
Game Prediction
The Flyers manage to get good goaltending in this game and come away with two important points. The Orange and Black manage to win the game 4-1. The Capitals goal comes from Alex Ovechkin. The Flyers goals come from Jake Voracek, Sean Couturier (two goals) and Nolan Patrick.
3) Saturday, Mar. 9 @ Islanders- 7 p.m. – ET
This will be the second time within a week that the Flyers and Islanders face each other. The games are important as the points will pay dividends in the standings. The Islanders are a deeper team than the Flyers, but the Flyers have been on quite a streak of late.
The Flyers Will Win If…
They can manage to limit the mistakes and get really good goaltending. If the Flyers can manage to get in on the forecheck early to establish a cycle game then that would help them manage the first 10 minutes of an important road game. The Orange and Black aren’t one of the best defensive teams in the League, but have been better since Scott Gordon took over.
Matchup of the Game
The goaltending will be an important piece in this game. If the teams can manage to get good goaltending then it will be a close, entertaining game. The goalies are going to need to make some key saves to keep their teams in the game but they will also need to make the routine saves eliminating any soft goals.
Game Prediction
The Flyers mange to pull this one out on the road by a final score of 4-3 in regulation. The Islanders goals are scored by Josh Bailey, Val Filppula and Casey Cizikas. The Flyers goals are scored by Claude Giroux, Travis Sanheim, Travis Konecny and Oskar Lindblom.
