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Flyers Game Day Preview: #45 At Columbus Blue Jackets

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Philadelphia Flyers' Jamie Drysdale greets teammates before an NHL hockey game against the Montreal Canadiens, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

After a thrilling 4-3 comeback victory Monday night, the Philadelphia Flyers (19-20-5) will quickly turn around and travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets (20-17-6) Tuesday night.



The Flyers are on the heels of a big win over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Flordia Panthers while going 2-3 in their last five games. The Blue Jackets are starting to heat up, going 4-1 in their previous five, winning four straight games.

The Flyers will look to match their season-high win streak: three games. They have done it twice this season– November 11th-16th against San Jose, Ottawa, and Buffalo, and November 27th-30th against Nashville, New York Rangers, and St. Louis.

Puck drop is at 7 p.m. EST in Columbus at Nationwide Arena.

Projected Lines

Forwards

Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Travis Konecny

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink

Olle Lycksell– Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov

Scott Laughton – Ryan Poehling – Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen

Cam York – Travis Sanheim

Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Goalie

Ivan Fedotov

Power Play Units

PP1: Travis Konceny – Morgan Frost – Matvei Michkov – Owen Tippett – Jamie Drysdale

PP2: Bobby Brink – Noah Cates – Tyson Foerster – Scott Laughton – Rasmus Ristolainen

Penalty Kill Units

PK1: Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny – Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen

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

Fedotov Should Get the Nod

Despite the fantastic recent play of Sam Ersson, I would expect Ivan Fedotov to get the start on Tuesday against Columbus. Ersson returned from a “lower-body” injury on January 9th against Dallas and has made every start since then.

If three straight games were not enough reason to give Ersson a rest, Tuesday is the second game of a back-to-back, even more reason to give him a break.

Fedotov has made two appearances since not seeing any time for a month. Both games came against the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of the premier offenses in the game. Fedotov held the Leafs to just three goals in back-to-back games, with one of the scores coming in over time.

The 6’7″ netminder kept the Flyers in striking distance of one of the league’s best and can surely do the same Tuesday against the surging Blue Jackets.

Some Players to Keep an Eye On

The Flyers have some players who may not have been hot all year but are amid point streaks or near-point streaks.

Morgan Frost scored a goal in three straight games for the first time in his NHL career. Frost is someone to watch, as he and that top line– Tippett-Frost-Konecny– have been building lots of chemistry together.

Speaking of that line, though he is not on a point streak, Travis Konecny has seven points in his last five games and has contributed at every level.

Jamie Drysdale slumped a bit but seems to have found some offensive juice. On Saturday night, he had a two-point night against his former team, the Anaheim Ducks, then tacked on an assist in Monday’s win over Florida. Drysdale’s assist showed his elite skating, passing, and patience and gave the Flyers a good look at his potential.

Matvei Michkov, another player who went through a bit of a slump, now has back-to-back games with a point as well. Michkov was the initial recipient of the Dysdale feed but just overskated and was too far behind the net to make a play, leaving it for Frost to tap it in for the easy score.

How to Watch

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+, ESPN+

Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. EST.

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