It’s the start of a tough five-game road trip.
The Flyers and Red Wings will face off for the final time this season as the Flyers begin a five-game road trip on Tuesday night. This will also be the third time these two teams have met in the last six weeks, with the Red Wings winning both previous matchups. This will be another fun matchup of two teams that are well outside of the playoff picture
The Red Wings 25-30-7 this season and sit at fifth in the tough Atlantic division. If you have seen a Detroit game this season, the biggest thing that stands out is their speed, as they are a young team that likes to get up and down the ice. The Red Wings are coming off a four-game west coast road trip that went through Canada and ended in Seattle. They went 1-3 on that road trip, and have won just one game in their last eight, including an ugly 9-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes.
The Flyers are coming off a solid 2-1 win over the New York Islanders where Kevin Hayes scored both goals for Philly. It was not an exciting game, or win for that matter, but it was nice to see a solid, hard-working effort from the team in a season that has been trying, to say the least. The Flyers will need to slow down the Red Wings through the neutral zone and make sure their defenseman don’t get caught too high up in the play.
Flyers Projected Lines
Joel Farabee-Morgan Frost-Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk-Kevin Hayes-Cam Atkinson
Oskar Lindblom-Patrick Brown-Owen Tippett
Max Willman-Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov-Cam York
Travis Sanheim-Rasmus Ristolainen
Keith Yandle-Nick Seeler
Kevin Connauton
Carter Hart
(Martin Jones)
Red Wings Projected Lines
Tyler Bertuzzi-Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Jakub Vrana-Pius Suter-Filip Zadina
Adam Erne-Michael Rasmussen-Taro Hirose
Joe Veleno-Sam Gagner-Oskar Sundqvist
Jordan Osterle-Moritz Seider
Olli Juolevi-Filip Hronek
Marc Staal-Jake Walman
Alex Nedeljkovic
(Thomas Greiss)
What to Watch For
Moritz Seider is one of the top young defensemen in the NHL. At just 20 years old, he is fourth on the team in points with 42 in 62 games. However, it is not just his offensive skill that impresses, as he is very sound defensively and is able to read plays and break them up thanks to his long reach. To go along with all that he is an imposing presence at 6’4”, 207 pounds. As his career develops, he will figure out how to better utilize his frame and become even more dangerous. If you watched the Flyers’ first game against Detroit this season, you may have seen him kill 30 seconds of a Flyers power play all by himself. He is a special talent who will be fun to watch well into the future.
Moritz Seider: One-Man Penalty Kill pic.twitter.com/8LxT4kR2pL
— NHL (@NHL) February 10, 2022
Another exciting young player for the Red Wings is potential Calder Trophy winner Lucas Raymond. Raymond is already doing things that only Steve Yzerman and Gordie Howe have done, such as being the only players in Red Wings history to have a hat trick and a four-point game as a teenager. At just 19 years old, he already ranks third on Detroit, and second in the NHL among rookies, in scoring with 47 points in 62 games. He has already worked his way onto the first power play unit and the first line, playing on the wing of captain Dylan Larkin. At just 5’ 11” and 182 pounds, he relies on his speed, skill, and hockey minds to beat defenders and find the open shot or pass.
From the Flyers’ side, Owen Tippett was very impressive in his first game as a Flyer. He was active in the offensive zone and more importantly he was willing to shoot the puck. He was credited with two shots on goal, one of which led to a scramble in front of the net which ended with Kevin Hayes’ second goal of the game. We will have to see if this was a case of first-game excitement and trying to make a good impression with teammates and coaches, or if the change of scenery will allow Tippett to become the player he was drafted to be.