The Philadelphia Flyers are taking part in their greatest hockey of the season, however a contemporary problem awaits Thursday after they host the defending champion Florida Panthers.
Philadelphia is 4-0-1 over its final 5 video games with three extra time wins throughout that stretch. Rookie winger Matvei Michkov has scored OT objectives in two of these victories. The 19-year-old Russian has three OT tallies within the final 9 video games, together with Saturday’s 3-2 win at St. Louis.
“We have had some confidence with (extra time),” Philadelphia coach John Tortorella stated. “Michkov has helped us fairly a bit there. Final yr, we struggled with it.”
The Flyers have had a pleasant break since Saturday’s victory, although, so it stays to be seen if their latest momentum will carry over into Thursday’s contest.
One space that might assist in opposition to Florida is the potential return of No. 1 goaltender Samuel Ersson, who has been out since Nov. 11 with a lower-body damage. Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov have break up time in web throughout Ersson’s absence with blended outcomes.
Tortorella is grateful for the chance to guage each of his workforce’s backup goalies, however he additionally desires to proceed assessing Ersson, who’s in his first full season as a workforce’s major netminder.
“All these items with the accidents, the goalie, our No. 1 man gone, it provides us an concept of what we’ve got,” Tortorella stated. “And that is a giant a part of this yr and, fairly actually, subsequent (yr) as a result of there aren’t any free brokers coming. We now have to maintain on evaluating what we’ve got within the group.”
Florida, after all, is aware of what it has in its prime goalie, Sergei Bobrovsky. Nonetheless, the Russian netminder has been out currently whereas awaiting the beginning of his youngster. He possible will miss Thursday’s contest, as properly, which may imply one other begin for Spencer Knight.
Knight allowed 5 objectives on 16 photographs in Tuesday’s extra time loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that left Panthers coach Paul Maurice with blended feelings.
“It was alright. I feel that is how we felt about it,” Maurice stated. “I do not assume we gave up an incredible quantity. I do not assume we took benefit of some issues that we usually do. I am not one hundred pc certain how I really feel about that one.”
After profitable their earlier three video games by a mixed margin of 17-4, the Panthers trailed the Penguins 4-1 with beneath 14 minutes remaining. Nonetheless, Matthew Tkachuk registered a objective and two assists within the third interval to assist power the additional session earlier than his workforce finally fell brief.
“I assume it is a level that we’re blissful to get,” stated Tkachuk, who completed with two objectives and two assists to surpass 600 factors for his profession. He now has 603 in his ninth season. “However after we struggle again, you simply actually need to get that win.”
Becoming a member of Tkachuk with a multi-point effort was Jesper Boqvist (two assists), whereas his brother Adam Boqvist was among the many different objective scorers for Florida.
“We simply know after we go on the market that we are able to put on groups down,” Adam Boqvist stated. “I feel we nearly confirmed that tonight with the third interval. Simply transfer on from this.”
The Panthers defeated the Flyers 4-3 in a shootout final month in Florida. The groups will meet once more Jan. 13 in Philadelphia.
–Area Stage Media
