Photo Credit: Mitchell Leff/Getty Images
The Flyers haven’t won three games in a row since Dec. 10 – Dec. 14, 2021 with wins against the Vegas Golden Knights, Arizona Coyotes, and New Jersey Devils. On Wednesday night, they’ll have a chance to do just that when the Detroit Red Wings come to town.
This marks the first of three meetings between these two teams. They’ll face-off in Detroit again on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m. ET and again on Mar. 22.
The Flyers are coming off of a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets last Tuesday. It was their first win in regulation since Dec. 14.
“Any success is good,” Flyers forward Travis Konecny said following their 3-1 win over the Jets. “We realize the wins are good, we’re obviously doing some things right, but we’re not satisfied. We’ve got to keep pushing and keep instilling winning habits into everyday routines. I don’t think this group’s satisfied with the two wins. We’re pleased with the outcomes, but we all want to do better and we’re all competitors. We’ve just got to keep working.”
Giroux crowned All-Star Game MVP
Over the weekend, Flyers captain Claude Giroux was voted MVP of the 2022 NHL All-Star Game. Giroux, who was making his seventh career All-Star appearance, registered four points (three goals, one assist) in two games in helping lead the Metropolitan Division to victory in Las Vegas.
With the trade deadline looming and Giroux set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, this could very well be one of the last memories of Claude Giroux donning a Flyers jersey.
In 985 regular season games for the the Flyers, Giroux has scored 288 goals and assisted on 605 others en route to 893 points.
After his stellar weekend in Vegas, the 34-year-old captain took center ice to lead stretches to cap off practice on Tuesday. Teammates were chanting “M-V-P” hoping Giroux would eventually give in. Clearly it worked.
Roster Juggling
Derick Brassard hasn’t played in a game since Jan. 6 against the Pittsbrugh Penguins due to what was believed to be an issue with his hip. Tonight, he makes his return to the lineup. After signing a one-year, $825,000 contract with the Flyers this offseason, the 34-year-old veteran has registered 11 points in 19 games (four goals, seven assists).
With his return, the Flyers opted not to recall forward Morgan Frost from their AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. In his last 20 games, Frost has registered only four points. While he’s shown flashes of what he’s capable of doing centering a line with Gerry Mayhew and Max Willman, playing with the Phantoms will allow him to get more ice time.
“For a guy like Frosty, he’ll have a chance to go play in every situation down there,” Flyers head coach Mike Yeo said following practice yesterday.
Defenseman Cam York also remains with the Phantoms. As of late he’s been playing on his off side with defense partner Keith Yandle. The young defenseman admitted that not playing on his natural side was completely new to him.
“I haven’t played the right side my entire career,” York said following practice back on Jan. 27.
In 13 games this season, York has registered three points (one goal, two assists).
“For Yorky, he’ll probably end up playing close to 30 minutes a game down there, penalty kill, playing in every situation, power play.” Yeo said.
As for Isaac Ratcliffe, the big-bodied forward is expected to be in the lineup Wednesday night against the Red Wings after being recalled Tuesday morning. He’ll play on a line with Connor Bunnaman and Zac MacEwen.
Updated Preview of the Detroit Red Wings
Just like the Flyers, the Detroit Red Wings (20-21-6) haven’t played a game since before the All-Star Break. Their last game came back on Feb. 2 against the Los Angeles Kings in which they suffered a 5-3 loss. Over their last ten games, Detroit has compiled a record of 4-5-1.
The Red Wings have two players that could potentially be in the running for the Calder Trophy which is given “to the player selected as most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League”. Rookie defenseman Mortiz Seider leads the Red Wings in assists (25) and is fourth in points (29). On the offensive side of things, forward Lucas Raymond is second in assists (24) and third in points (35).
Forward Dylan Larkin leads the team in goals (23) and points (44). He’s third on the team in assists (21). In 14 career games against the Flyers, Larkin has registered eight points (3 goals, 5 assists).
Detroit has trouble scoring as well as keeping the puck out of the net. They rank near the bottom of the league in both goals for per game (2.72 GF/GP) and goals against per game (3.43 GA/GP).
Puck drop is slated for 7 p.m. ET from the Wells Fargo Center.
