Flyers Game Day Preview: #42 VS Dallas Stars

The Philadelphia Flyers (17-19-5) are set to host the Dallas Starts (25-13-1) after the Flyers suffered back-to-back 3-2 losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Stars are coming to Philly on a five-game winning streak and will look to extend it. The Flyers have won just one game in their last five.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. in the Wells Fargo Center.

Projected Lines

Forwards

Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Travis Konecny

Scott Laughton – Morgan Frost – Matvei Michkov

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink

Joel Farabee – Sean Couturier – Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Cam York – Travis Sanheim

Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Goalie

Sam Ersson

Power Play Units

PP1: Travis Konceny – Morgan Frost – Joel Farabee – Owen Tippett – Jamie Drysdale

PP2: Bobby Brink – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster – Matvei Michkov – Rasmus Ristolainen

Penalty Kill Units

PK1: Scott Laughton – Joel Farabee – Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen

PK2: Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway – Nick Seeler – Egor Zamula

Will Michkov get a Point?

In Tuesday’s loss to the Maple Leafs, Flyers prized rookie Matvei Michkov tallied seven shots on goal in just two periods of work.

Michkov played in the third period, but his on-ice time was limited after a collision with Scott Laughton early in the period.

His shots weren’t the only point threats Tuesday. Michkov was setting up his teammates with a multitude of great chances off slick feeds, including a missed opportunity by Owen Tippett with just over a minute remaining in the game and an extra attacker on the ice.

Michkov will surely look to regain the rookie point lead in Thursday’s action against the Stars.

Rookie Showdown

Speaking of the Calder race, we will get to see the first showdown between Michkov and Stars rookie Logan Stankoven.

Stankoven broke onto the scene late last season, tallying 14 points in 24 games (6G, 8A) in the regular season and eight total points (3G, 5A) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for Dallas last season. He has 18 points (4G, 14A) in 37 games this season.

While he is not playing at the same level as he was last season, Stankoven is still among the best rookies in the league, and this should be the first of many entertaining matchups between the two rookies.

Previous Matchups

The Flyers dominated the previous matchup between the two squads, winning 5-1 at home.