The Philadelphia Flyers (13-12-6) take on the Los Angeles Kings tonight (15-12-5) and have a chance to collect five out of the possible six points between SEA, SJS, and LA. Derrick Brassard, Carter Hart, and Scott Laughton have all been activated off the COVID protocol list and will meet up with the team in Anaheim tomorrow. You can catch the game at 10:30 pm (NBCSP).

The Flyers were only able to escape Thursday night’s game against the Sharks with one point after Tomas Hertl ended the game in OT.

Felix Sandstrom was simply fantastic in his NHL debut, but as I say in every single preview, he was left out to dry all game. 43 saves in his first start in the NHL is the most saves by a Flyers rookie goalie ever. It’s the same story every game with this team. Get outshot, lose the majority of your 1v1 battles, and make your goalie stand on his head. 

Martin Jones will get the start tonight in LA. Jones is now 6-4-1 on the season with a 3.20 GAA and a .911 SV%. He saved 34 of the 36 shots in what was yet another game consisting of a Flyers goalie being the only reason they were able to come back.

There’s only one change to the lineup by Interim Head Coach Mike Yeo. Kevin Connauton will enter for Nick Seeler and will be paired with Keith Yandle. 

Flyers Lineup

JvR – Giroux – Atkinson 

Willman – Hayes – Farabee

Lindblom – Frost – Konecny

Cates – Brown – MacEwen

Provorov – Braun

Sanheim – Ristolainen

Yandle – Connauton

Jones

We’ve seen some pretty bad third pairings in the last handful of seasons as Flyers fans, but I can confidently say this is the worst one out of all of them. We all know the Flyers aren’t going to sit Yandle when he’s so close to the iron man streak, so there’s no reason to even sit here and entertain it. I’m not really into individual player stats when that said player is actively hurting the team. I’d sit him, sorry, debate a wall.

Lindblom – Frost – Konecny was easily the best forward line against the Sharks. They combined for four points (1G-3A) and showcased a ton of chemistry.

Lindblom starting to heat up with six points (2G-4A) in his last five games is an extremely welcoming sight for Flyers fans. He’s winning board battles, going to the dirty areas in front of the net, and looks a lot lighter on his feet. I’m looking forward to seeing them play together more. 

Speaking of Konecny, the situation with him is extremely weird. I wouldn’t say he’s playing bad, but I also wouldn’t say he’s playing well either. He has nine assists in his last nine games but has 0 goals in his last sixteen.

If the Flyers are going to make any sort of run to the playoffs they need Konecny to start putting the puck in the back of the net again. Hopefully playing with a playmaker like Morgan Frost and an extremely solid complimentary player like Lindblom can get him going.

If you watched that full 5 on 3 power play from the Flyers on Thursday, I’m sorry. That was genuinely one of the worst power plays I’ve ever watched. Giroux and Provorov had a catch for 40 seconds and everyone else stood motionless watching them. Passing the puck along the perimeter for 30 seconds isn’t the best strategy when you’re up two players, but what do I know.

Parx Sportsbook

The Flyers are +140 to beat LA tonight on Parx Sportsbook. LA is coming off a 2-1 win against Vancouver, ending Bruce Boudreau’s seven-game winning streak since taking over the team as head coach.

Mandatory Credit: Zack Hill - Flyers PR