Flyers Game 10: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Predators

The Philadelphia Flyers (5-3-1) end the opening month of the season with their 10th game, when they host the Nashville Predators (4-5-2) at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Thursday night.

Nashville is coming off a five-game homestand, where it won two of the five games. Most recently, it was back-to-back losses for the Preds, following a shootout win against the Kings. The Flyers are on game three of their five-game homestand, winning the first two in the shootout. In their last five games, the Flyers are 4-1-0.

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up.

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Flyers Lines & Pairs vs. Penguins

Forwards
Travis Konecny – Sean Couturier – Owen Tippett
Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink
Trevor Zegras – Christian Dvorak – Matvei Michkov
Nick Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Garnet Hathaway

Defensemen
Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale
Emil Andrae – Noah Juulsen

Goaltenders
Dan Vladar
Aleksei Kolosov

Special Teams
PP1: Drysdale, Couturier, Michkov, Tippett, Konecny
PP2: York, Cates, Zegras, Foerster, Brink

PK1: Couturier, Konecny, Seeler, Sanheim
PK 2: Dvorak, Hathaway,York, Juulsen

Flyers Lineup Changes

For the second straight game, Nikita Grebenkin is out of the lineup in favor of Nick Deslauriers.

On Tuesday, it seemed like no big deal. Grebenkin is still a young player; Games in the press box are not uncommon for someone like him. However, it’s also essential to ensure they’re not sitting for too long. The fourth line was generating some momentum on Tuesday, so it’s understandable to give them another look. At the same time, unless Deslauriers does something unbelievable on Thursday, if Grebenkin remains out for Saturday, it should become cause for concern.

Moving on to the changes, Emil Andrae draws into the third pair. He was recalled on Tuesday, but did not join the team until Wednesday. It has been a steady rotation between Adam Ginning and Egor Zamula for that third-pair left-side spot. Andrae now joins the mix.

Flyers goalie Sam Ersson missed Wednesday’s practice with “a little tweak”. Dan Vladar was always expected to get the start on Thursday, but it will be Aleksei Kolosov backing Vladar up, per Rick Tocchet. Unless the “tweak” is something bigger than expected, Kolosov likely is an emergency call-up.

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Things to Watch

Trevor Zegras has a point in every home game so far this season. The Flyers are 5-1-1 in games where Zegras registers a point. He has started to build some good chemistry with Christian Dvorak, as both of them make the “hybrid” center position work.

Zegras has also been an X-factor on the Cates power play unit. He is a player to keep an eye on in this one.

Another player to focus on is Dan Vladar. It’s been a week since he last played. Vladar’s last start was the loss against Ottawa last Thursday. He draws back into the lineup against the Predators. With the goalie battle still alive, it’ll be interesting to see how Vladar responds to the extended break.

Lastly, I will be keeping a close eye on the Flyers’ fourth line on Thursday. The team’s fourth line looked pretty good on Tuesday, with each player getting their season-high in ice time. You’d have to imagine that played a role in keeping Grebenkin out for the second straight game.

Previous Matchups

The Flyers faced the Predators twice last season, winning each game by a one-goal margin. In Nashville, the Flyers and Predators went to overtime after Morgan Frost scored with just 12 seconds remaining in the game. Sean Couturier scored the game-winner. The Flyers won that game 3-2.

In Philadelphia, it was less exciting. Matvei Michkov had two assists in the game, one on Ryan Poehling’s game-opening score and the other on what would end up being the game-winner from Jamie Drysdale. Every goal was scored in the second period.

Travis Konecny led the Flyers in points against Nashville last season with three assists. Sean Couturier and Jamie Drysdale are the only current Flyers to score against the Preds last season. Brady Skjei is Nashville’s only player to have multiple points against the Flyers last year.

How to Watch

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+ (Stream)
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

The puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

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