Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers-Stars preview: Shorthanded Philly trying to avoid dubious record

Published

2 years ago

January 24, 2022

Goaltender Carter Hart, who hasn't won since Dec. 14, and the Flyers will be trying to beat visiting Dallas on Monday and end an 11-game skid.

The Philadelphia Flyers can equal a dubious franchise record if their winless streak grows to 12 games Monday night against visiting Dallas.

The Flyers were winless in 12 straight games in 1998-99.

Dallas (20-16-2) has won the first two games of its four-game trip, beating Buffalo and Detroit by identical 5-4 scores. The victory over the Red Wings was in overtime.

The Flyers (13-20-8) dropped a 5-2 decision in Dallas on Nov. 13 as the Stars took a 1-0 first-period lead and coasted to the victory.

It’s been a recurring theme for the Flyers. Fall behind early, chase the game, come up short. They have allowed the first goal in nine of the last 10 games, all losses. They are 0-8-3 in their last 11 contests.

This is the state of the Flyers these days: They now have eight injured players, and their third line is composed of players who began the season with the AHL’s Phantoms: Morgan Frost, Gerry Mayhew, and Max Willman. At practice Sunday, their fourth line had Jackson Cates centering two defensemen because of injuries.

The latest injured Flyer is winger Wade Allison (knee), who is expected to miss a couple weeks. Zack MacEwen, another winger, is far from 100%, but will play tonight.

Former Flyer Michael Raffl won’t play for Dallas. He is sidelined for 10 to 14 days after blocking a shot with his right foot in the last game.

Storylines

Can the The Flyers rebound from one of their most humiliating defeats of their 11-game skid, a 6-3 loss in Buffalo?

Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle will tie an NHL record by playing in his 964th consecutive game.

Dallas will be trying keep its momentum going and get closer to a Western Conference wild-card spot; the Stars are two points out, and center Tyler Sequin is heating up.

Flyers’ projected lineup

Line 1: Claude Giroux centering James van Riemsdyk and Cam Atkinson.

Line 2: Scott Laughton centering Oskar Lindblom and Travis Konecny.

Line 3: Morgan Frost centering Gerry Mayhew and Max Willman.

Line 4: Jackson Cates centering Nick Seeler (!) and MacEwen. Seeler is a 28-year-old depth defenseman, but he will see some shifts Monday at LW, where he was sometimes used at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.

(Forwards Connor Bunnman and Linus Sandin were put on the taxi squad Monday, but will not play tonight, per the Flyers.)

Defense: Ivan Provorov and Justin Braun; Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen; Yandle and Cam York.

Goalie: Carter Hart.

Numbers Dept.

Dallas has the NHL’s fourth-best power play (27%), and will be a difficult matchup for the Flyers’ 21st-ranked penalty kill. The Flyers allowed three power-play goals in Saturday’s loss in Buffalo.

Who’s hot?

Atkinson has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his last 11 games.

For Dallas, center Joe Pavelski, who is 37 years young, has points in 11 of the last 12 games, collecting a staggering 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in that span. In 38 games, Pavelski has 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) and a plus-10 rating.

Projected goalie matchup

Hart (7-13-5 ), who has a 2.90 GAA and a .911 save percentage, will start for the Flyers. He has lost his last seven starts and is searching for his first win since Dec. 14.

The Stars will use 6-5, 220-pound goalie Jake Oettinger (2.73, .905), who is 9-4 but has been shaky in his last two outings. A Minnesota native, he was a first-round selection (26th overall) in 2017.