Flyers vs. Bruins: Projected lines, game notes, and three things to watch at Lake Tahoe

It’s finally here: Flyers vs. Bruins. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST from the picturesque Lake Tahoe.

The Flyers (8-3-3) are hoping that going outdoors can bring them their first win against the Bruins (10-3-2) this season.

Projected lines and pairs

The Flyers lineup will have a similar look to Thursday with one change.

Mark Friedman to enter Flyers lineup at forward for Lake Tahoe game

Here are the projected lines and pairs for the Flyers against the Bruins:

James van Riemsdyk – Sean Couturier – Joel Farabee
Michael Raffl – Kevin Hayes – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Connor Bunnaman – Nolan Patrick – Maksim Sushko
Samuel Morin – Andy Andreoff – Mark Friedman

Ivan Provorov – Philippe Myers
Travis Sanheim – Shayne Gostisbehere
Robert Hagg – Erik Gustafsson

Mark Friedman will also see some time as a defenseman

Carter Hart
Brian Elliott

Flyers vs. Bruins Game Notes

• This will be the Flyers’ fifth outdoor game. They are 1-2-1 with their come-from-behind victory over the Penguins in the 2019 Stadium Series game.
• This will be the seventh outdoor game of James van Riemsdyk’s NHL career.
• The Flyers are 0-2-2 against the Bruins this season, blowing leads in three of those games. The Bruins outscored the Flyers 18-9 in those four games.
• The Orange and Black will be playing in just their second game in the past two weeks. They squeaked out a point against the Rangers in a shootout loss on Thursday night.
• The Flyers went 0-for-5 on the power play on Thursday and had just 22 shots on goal total. They’re going to need more than that if they want to secure their first win against Boston.
• The six players on NHL’s COVID Protocol list will be unavailable: Justin Braun, Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Scott Laughton, Oskar Lindblom, Jakub Voracek.

Flyers to play without several key pieces due to COVID Protocol

• The Bruins won’t have three regulars on their blue line as Kevan Miller (load management), Matt Grzelcyk (lower-body), and Jakub Zboril (upper-body) won’t play.
• The Bruins will also be without their second-line center in David Krejci, who suffered a lower-body injury Thursday

Three things to watch

1. Taking it outside

Outdoor games are fun and anything can happen. They have a different feel to them and being outside seems to bring an interesting element to the game.

Gritty appears to be enjoying his Lake Tahoe vacation

If this game were taking place in Boston, the Bruins would be even bigger favorites than they are. However, given the allure of Lake Tahoe and the wackiness of outdoor games, the Flyers have a shot. Get pucks in deep, pucks on net, and people to the net. Good things will happen.

2. Hart gets the start

This will be the first NHL outdoor game for Carter Hart. He missed the 2019 Stadium Series game after aggravating an injury, but he’ll be between the pipes tonight.

Hart played in the first-ever outdoor game in IIHF World Championship play in 2017 for Team Canada against Team USA. In snowy conditions, Team USA won in a shootout, 4-3.

The Flyers have picked up points in all five of Hart’s starts since the blowout loss in Boston. He is 3-0-2 with a .922 save percentage, allowing 13 goals on 167 shots. Hart made 31 saves on 33 shots in Thursday night’s loss.

3. Four defensemen on the ice?

With Mark Friedman taking shifts on the wing, it’s possible that the Flyers could essentially have four defensemen on the ice at once. If Friedman is on the fourth line with Morin, that’s two “defensemen” as forwards along with the defensive pair.

The Flyers might need all the help they can get without their six regulars in the lineup. Nevertheless, it’s good to see Friedman get another crack in the lineup, even if it’s at forward.

The Flyers and Bruins are scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. EST puck drop at Lake Tahoe

Photo Credit: Heather Barry Images