Philly Leader

The Philadelphia Flyers, under coach John Tortorella, are set to begin a five-game road trip on the Gulf Coast of Florida. They will face Jon Cooper's Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Monday, with the game scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST. The match will be broadcasted on NBCSP and available on radio through 93.3 WMMR and Flyers Radio 24/7.

This marks the third and final encounter between the Flyers and Lightning in the 2024-25 season, with Philadelphia having won both previous meetings via shootouts. The first victory was a 2-1 win in Tampa on November 7, followed by a 4-3 win at Wells Fargo Center on March 13.

Bobby Brink played a pivotal role in last Thursday's shootout victory over Tampa Bay, contributing two goals and an assist. Matvei Michkov and Owen Tippett scored during the shootout phase, while Ryan Poehling added a goal during regulation time.

Tampa Bay recently ended a three-game winless streak with a decisive 6-2 victory against the Boston Bruins. Anthony Cirelli scored twice, while Victor Hedman contributed both a goal and an assist. Notably, Tampa limited Boston to just 12 shots throughout the game, including a significant second period where they outshot their opponents by a remarkable margin.

For Monday's game, several key factors could influence the outcome:

1. **Shot suppression and shot quality**: In their recent shutout loss to Carolina Hurricanes (5-0), Philadelphia managed to block numerous attempts but still conceded many shots on goal. They must replicate their strategy from last Thursday when they outshot Tampa Bay significantly.

2. **Flyers power play**: Philadelphia has struggled with its power play recently, failing to score in their last seven games (0-for-17). Their overall success rate stands at 14.7 percent this season, ranking them near the bottom of the league.

3. **Flyers penalty kill**: Despite some successes against Tampa Bay last week, Philadelphia's penalty kill faced challenges during their homestand series due to player absences and trades affecting team dynamics.

4. **Michkov Watch**: Rookie Matvei Michkov is closely watched as he ranks high among NHL rookies in scoring this season despite recent scoreless games during home matches.

An important x-factor for this game is containing Nikita Kucherov of Tampa Bay who has been prolific over recent seasons but missed last week's match due to illness before returning against Boston with an assist performance.

Philadelphia hopes to keep Kucherov contained as they seek another victory over Tampa before continuing their road trip journey while Tampa prepares for upcoming away games after hosting Philadelphia tonight.