Continuing their season-opening stretch of games against top-end opposition, Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (1-2-1) are home on Saturday to host John Hynes’ Minnesota Wild (2-3-0). The Flyers are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
Game time at Xfinity Mobile Arena is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be broadcast on NBCSP.
Minnesota is playing the second half of a road back-to-back set. On Thursday, the host Washington Capitals defeated Hynes’ club, 5-1. The score was tied at 1-1 late in the second period. However, the Capitals pulled away with four unanswered goals, including three in the final period.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch in Saturday’s match.
1. Brink’s Impact.
The trio of Noah Cates centering Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink has easily been the Flyers’ best overall line in the season’s first four games. The line didn’t have its usual impact on the forecheck in the Winnipeg game but normally sets the standard for puck pressure and support.
Right winger Brink, often the least talked-about member of the line in public discourse, is off to the best individual start of his career so far. He had an outstanding — perhaps even career-best — overall performance last Saturday against the Hurricanes. Meanwhile, the Minnesota native has shown an ability to deliver when he’s been in the lineup against the Wild.
2. The York-Sanheim pair.
Cam York returned to the Flyers’ lineup on Thursday after missing the first three games with a lower-body ailment. Tocchet and assistant coach Todd Reirden were able to reunite York’s long-running defense pairing with Travis Sanheim.
York had a solid return from an analytics standpoint. By the eye test, he and Sanheim were usually able to put the team in position to move up ice. The club itself was a bit off in its timing. It wasn’t a high-impact game for most of the club but it was one off which York can build.
3. Flyers power play.
So far this season, the Flyers have had one power play in each game in which they’ve at least won the first faceoff and established very strong puck movement even if they didn’t score. However, they’ve also had at least one in each game where they’ve spun their wheels. They’ve also allowed a shorthanded goal.
Bottom line: the team is 1-for-13 so far on the man advantage. That needs to improve in the games to come. It’s a work in progress.
4. The Box +1
The Flyers’ defensive strategy at 5-on-5 is built off their Box +1 zone defense approach. When executed properly, it takes away the middle of the ice, minimizes cross-seam plays and forces opponents to the perimeter.
Through four games, the Flyers’ execution hasn’t been seamless. However, there have been some positive signs –the Philadelphia goaltenders usually saw the puck clearly in games 1 to 3 and, even last game, the team yielded a low shot total Winnipeg attack. These are building blocks, not end points.