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PHILADELPHIA FLYERS |
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10–15–8 (27 points; .422%) ROSTER / SCHEDULE |
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7:00 P.M. – TUESDAY, DECEMBER 20 WELLS FARGO CENTER PHILADELPHIA, PA |
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| TV: Bally Sports Ohio, ESPN+ |
The bottom two teams in the eastern conference meet Tuesday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets go up against John Tortorella and the Philadelphia Flyers.
Columbus looked fine against a tough Dallas team Monday, falling 2-1 to the Stars and making it four straight losses for the Blue Jackets. It was a 1-0 game late, with Dallas connecting on an empty-netter and Columbus responding with a goal in the final seconds to dodge a shutout.
Looking to avoid a fifth straight loss for the second time this season, the Blue Jackets aim to make it 3-0-0 against the Flyers this season when the teams face off in Philadelphia.
Here's what to know when the Blue Jackets and Flyers drop the puck in the City of Brotherly Love:
| CBJ | SEASON STATS | PHI |
|---|---|---|
| 2.71 | GOALS FOR | 2.41 |
| 4.00 | GOALS AGAINST | 3.28 |
| 15.3% | POWER PLAY | 15.5% |
| 77.6% | PENALTY KILL | 75.3% |
| 29.3 | SHOTS FOR | 29.3 |
| 35.4 | SHOTS AGAINST | 32.1 |
| 45.2% | CF% (EVEN) | 46.6% |
| 50.0% | FACEOFF % | 45.0% |
| PROJECTIONS | ||
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER MONEYPUCK | 38% | |
| ODDS OF CBJ WIN PER THE 538 | 46% | |
| CAESAR'S SPORTSBOOK BETTING | PHI -170 | |
| FLYERS: LAST THREE GAMES | ||
| SAT, 12/17 | vs RANGERS | L, 6-3 |
| THU, 12/15 | @ DEVILS | W, 2-1 |
| TUE, 12/13 | @ AVALANCHE | L, 3-2 |
| FLYERS: TEAM LEADERS | ||
| GOALS | TRAVIS KONECNY | 12 |
| ASSISTS | KEVIN HAYES | 20 |
| POINTS | KEVIN HAYES | 29 |
TALKING POINTS: PHI
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After winning four of their first five to start the season and opening with a 7-3-2 record through a dozen games, it's been almost exclusively disappointment for the Flyers. Dating back to November 10th (a loss to the Blue Jackets), Philly has won just three of their last 20 games, giving up three or more goals in 17 of those games.
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The offense has sputtered since then, as well. In 14 of the 20 games, the Flyers offense has failed to score more than twice. A power play that has connected just seven times in 56 opportunities (12.5%) has made things even more difficult.
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Things would be in serious peril for the Flyers if not for goaltender Carter Hart. He enters Tuesday's game with a 2.82 goals against and .913 save percentage. While he's cooled down a sensational start (5-0-0, .947 save percentage, 2.00 goals against), the 24-year-old stopped 48 of 49 shots last week in a close win over the Metro-leading New Jersey Devils. If Hart is on his game, the Flyers can still be dangerous.
- For Columbus fans hoping to see former Blue Jacket Cam Atkinson, it'll be a while. He's missed the entire season so far, and the club announced Monday that the 33-year-old will undergo neck surgery and will not return for the 2022-23 season. We here at 1st Ohio Battery wish Cam the best of luck on the surgery and a speedy recovery.
CBJ
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13-91-29
With Boone Jenner going down for about a month following thumb surgery, the Blue Jackets debuted Kent Johnson at center between Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Laine in Monday's loss. Johnon scored his 7th goal of the season in the final seconds with an extra attacker on, but significantly more important was that the trio looked to have something going for them from the outset. Johnson will get an assist on a lot of Gaudreau goals the rest of this decade.
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SPUTTERING OFFENSE
Johnson's goal was just the fourth for the Blue Jackets in the last four games. Columbus is gradually getting better on the blue line, but they won't win many games averaging just one goal a night.
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ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
The Blue Jackets and Flyers are competing in more ways than one. Both teams have a reasonable chance to get top picks in the 2023 NHL Draft and games like these, where the hope of making a run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs is borderline impossible. Root for Columbus, of course, but remember that if the Flyers win, it isn't all bad — prospects Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli look to be franchise-altering rookies.
PROJECTED LINES
Updated: 7:05 a.m. // Subject to Change
| LW | C | RW | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | Johnny Gaudreau | 91 | Kent Johnson | 29 | Patrik Laine |
| 14 | Gus Nyquist | 96 | Jack Roslovic | 59 | Yegor Chinakhov |
| 50 | Eric Robinson | 7 | Sean Kuraly | 86 | Kirill Marchenko |
| 72 | Carson Meyer | 19 | Liam Foudy | 24 | Mathieu Olivier |
| LD | RD | ||
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| 4 | Vladislav Gavrikov | 47 | Marcus Bjork |
| 75 | Tim Berni | 44 | Eric Gudbranson |
| 23 | Jake Christiansen | 2 | Andrew Peeke |
| Starting Goalie | Backup | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 90 | Elvis Merzlikins | 40 | Daniil Tarasov |
