Returning from a four-game road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers will host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. The Flyers, led by head coach Rick Tocchet, currently hold a 14-7-3 record. Their opponents, coached by Dane Muse, have a 12-7-5 record. This matchup marks the second of four meetings between the teams this season. In their previous encounter on October 28, the Flyers secured a 3-2 shootout victory at home.
The game is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST at Xfinity Mobile Arena and will be broadcast on NBCSP.
During their recent road trip, the Flyers won three out of four games. Their latest win was a 5-3 result against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Saturday. Owen Tippett and Matvei Michkov each scored twice in that game, while Trevor Zegras added another goal for Philadelphia. Goaltender Dan Vladar made 28 saves to help secure the victory.
At home this season, the Flyers have achieved an 8-3-2 record and have earned points in nine of their last eleven games (7-2-2). In November alone, they posted an 8-4-2 record.
The Penguins enter Monday’s game with a road record of 6-3-3 this season. They went 4-5-3 in November and are 4-3-3 over their last ten games. Most recently, Pittsburgh suffered a heavy defeat at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs, losing 7-2 after conceding three unanswered goals in the second period. Ben Kindel and Sidney Crosby scored for Pittsburgh during that match.
Several factors may influence Monday’s contest:
“Things got feisty the last time the Flyers played the Penguins, as they so often have over the years. An end-of-overtime dust-up resulted in multiple players being disqualified from the shootout including Philadelphia shootout ace Zegras and Pittsburgh’s Crosby. There was also a combined eight power plays in that game.”
“On Monday, the Flyers will want to feed off the home crowd’s energy in their return from last week’s road trip. At the same time, after playing four road games in six nights, Philly will need to manage its own energy wisely.”
“Two-time defending Bobby Clarke Trophy winner Travis Konecny has had an uneven campaign, by his standards, in first halves of recent seasons. However, he’s coming off a strong game in the win over New Jersey this past Saturday. The Flyers need Konecny to be a positive tone setter against the Penguins, too.”
“Noah Cates often draws the task of playing against an opponent’s top offensive line, whether it’s Crosby and the Penguins or Connor McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers. The Penguins still present the dual challenge of contending with Evgeni Malkin’s line as well as Crosby’s.”
“The approach to line matchups that Tocchet and his staff take on Monday is worth tracking. How will the Sean Couturier and Christian Dvorak lines be deployed? Will Crosby see a steady diet of playing against Cates? Do the Flyers send Couturier head-to-head with Malkin? Could there be a mid-game switch? Or will the rotation be handled straight up with only selective line matching for certain shifts?”
“Goals in the first or last minutes of a period have a way of carrying over into subsequent team-wide play. Saturday’s game was a good example: see the effects of Michkov’s early second-period goal and New Jersey’s power play goal late in the same frame. Game management is always crucial, but especially so in a rivalry clash such as a Flyers/Penguins game.”
The outcome on Monday could impact both teams’ positions within their division as they continue through their regular season schedules.
