Looking for their fourth straight win, Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (6-3-1) are home on Saturday to take on Craig Berube’s Toronto Maple Leafs (5-5-1). The Flyers are 6-1-0 on home ice to date with two games remaining on their current homestand.
Game time on Saturday is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSP locally and NHL Network nationally.
The Flyers enter this game coming off a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday. Toronto. Toronto lost 6-3 on the road to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
Both teams are dealing with notable injuries. Flyers captain Sean Couturier (undisclosed injury) left Thursday’s game in the first period. Goaltender Samuel Ersson (lower-body injury) went on Injured Reserve on Wednesday. In their place, the Flyers recalled forward Jacob Gaucher and goaltender Aleksei Kolosov.
Meanwhile, William Nylander (lower body) remains day-to-day. Former Flyers forward Scott Laughton (lower body) is doubtful to be ready for this game. Goaltender Joseph Woll (personal) returned to the team earlier this week but is not yet ready to play. However, defenseman Chris Tanev (upper body) has been cleared to return to play.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Saturday.
1. Zegras goes for an eight-game streak.
Flyers forward Trevor Zegras leads the team in scoring with 12 points (four goals, eight assists) through the season’s first 10 games. Thus far, he’s recorded at least one point in all seven home games played to date. He’ll go for an eight-gamer on Saturday against Toronto.
Zegras earned First Star honors in Thursday’s game against Nashville. He led the Flyers offensively with a three-point performance: two goals (even strength and power play) plus an assist.
2. Michkov is nearing a breakout.
Much has been said and written about second-year winger Matvei Michkov’s slower than predicted start to the season, beyond just the statistical side (one goal, four assists).
However, Michkov has steadily improved on a game-by-game basis the last couple weeks. He now appears ready for a goal-scoring breakout. On Thursday, Michkov collected a pair of well-earned primary assists. He protected the puck well on the walls. He additionally made a really nice backchecking play.
Apart from two shootout goals — which do not count in official individual stats — Michkov has only found the net once so far through 10 games. It would not be a surprise if that starts to change on Saturday. He’s right on the cusp.
3. Attack through the middle.
The Maple Leafs are off to a roller coaster start to the season. They still have plenty of dangerous attackers, led by Auston Matthews. However, the Maple Leafs have had puck management, defensive coverage, and goaltending consistency issues so far. These have contributed to a team 3.82 goals against average (ranked 28th) to date.
Thus far, Toronto opponents have found lanes in the middle of the ice and opportunities to generate traffic. If the Flyers can take advantage in Saturday’s game, their chances of offensive success increase greatly.
4. Containing Matthews.
By his standards, Matthews is off to a so-so start through 11 games (five goals, eight points). He has yet to truly take over a game relative to what he can bring when he has his A game going. At some point, other teams will pay the price. The Flyers need to make sure it happens against a different club. Making sure that neither Matthews nor Tavares lights them up on the scoreboard would go a long way toward extending the current winning streak.