Kirill Kaprizov is scoring tonight: Wild at Flyers Preview

The (16-27-10) Philadelphia Flyers will welcome the (31-17-3) Minnesota Wild to the city of brotherly love, in hopes to answer a pathetic 3-0 shutout loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.

Carter Hart will get the nod once again and Max Willman will re-enter the lineup with Isaac Ratcliffe getting demoted back down to the Phantoms this morning. You can catch the game at 7 pm on NBCSP.

Carter Hart

The Flyers actually outshot the Oilers on Tuesday night 39-32, but the quality of chances the Oilers had compared to the Flyers was almost laughable. Passing up wide-open shots, whiffing on two empty nets, you name it, the Flyers did it on Tuesday night. 

Hart is currently 10-17-6 on the season with a 2.87 GAA and a .912 SV%. How he has kept a save percentage above .900 on this trash team is beyond me. 

With eight games left before the trade deadline on March 21st, I’d expect the Flyers to show off Martin Jones a little more, hoping to cash in on something for the 32-year goalie. Jones is currently 6-10-3 on the season with a 3.51 GAA and a .898 SV%.

Tuesday Night

Like I just said, the Flyers actually outshot the Oilers on Tuesday night 39-32, but the quality of those chances favored the Oilers.

Even though the high-danger scoring chances were tied 7-7, the Flyers passed up on multiple dangerous scoring chances, passing the puck, something we’ve become all too familiar with as Flyers fans the past decade. 

McDavid and Draisaitl are two generational talents and as I said on Tuesday night’s preview, you can only hope to contain them. McDavid finished the game with 1G-1A, with his goal being the empty netter that sealed the win for Edmonton. 

Draisaitl finished the game with the same stats, only his goal came on the power play off a dot of a shot from the blue-line. 

The Flyers will have zero breaks from dealing with elite talent tonight. Kirill Kaprizov, who has 24G-40A-64P in 50 games, will be a handful to handle. He has been cold lately, only having 1G-2A in his last 5 games, but I fully expect him to bring his “A” game tonight. 

I feel like players that are a little cold foam at the mouth when they see the Flyers on the schedule. It’s almost as if every player that hasn’t scored in two calendar years or still doesn’t have a goal in the NHL, gets back on track against the Flyers. 

How many times has a guy scored against us and Jim Jackson follows it up with a “And that’s his first goal since December of 2018.” It’s like clockwork. 

Flyers Lineup vs the Wild

Joel Farabee – Claude Giroux – Cam Atkinson 

Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny 

James van Riemsdyk – Derick Brassard – Gerry Mayhew

Max Willman – Patrick Brown – Zack MacEwen 

Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun 

Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen

Keith Yandle – Nick Seeler 

Carter Hart

Isaac Ratcliffe

Issac Ratcliffe was sent back to the Phantoms this morning according to the Flyers Twitter page. “Ratty” had 4 points in his first 10 games in the NHL and honestly showed that maybe his style of game better suits the NHL. 

Yeo commented on Isaac’s play as of late after practice on Wednesday, saying the 6’6 forward seemed to go into a shell after his two penalties against Washington, playing a more tentative game rather than being assertive.

The Flyers rewarded Ratcliffe’s impressive play at the beginning of his call-up, placing him with Giroux and Atkinson for a game. Admittedly, Ratcliffe did seem like he was trying to fit in with Giroux and Atkinson rather than trying to create, but I don’t think sitting him for Max Willman is the best way to help him regain his confidence. 

It’s the same story with Morgan Frost, who despite not scoring a point in last night’s Phantoms game, was the best player on the ice by far. Frost was involved in 5-6 high-danger scoring chances and had a couple of really impressive plays on the PK. 

With the way this season has unfolded, I don’t understand why they’d rather give Max Willman ice time instead of plugging these kids in good positions and letting them go. What’s the worst thing that can happen, we lose? Who gives a shit, I’m currently watching Logan Cooley and Simon Nemec highlights on YouTube and reading extensive scouting reports on the Top 10 of this 2022 NHL draft. 

Watch out for Fiala

Kevin Fiala is currently having a fantastic season for the Wild. He has 17G-27A-44P in 51 games and is on a tear in his last 5 games with 3G-4A-7P. 

The Wild’s power play is currently ranked 20th in the league and honestly, I’m a little surprised with that ranking. They have players like Kaprizov, Eriksson Ek, Zuccarello, Boldy, and Spurgeon on it. They did go 2 for 3 in their last game against the Flames, so I fully expect them to continue that tonight against the 7th worst PK in hockey. 

Parx Sportsbook

Parx Sportsbook is currently running a “PA Parlay” tonight. You’d need a Penguins and Flyers win at +650 to cash out. If you like value, there it is, but I’d be cautious. 

Kirill Kaprizov to score a goal is currently at +123, so I’d say that’s a little safer. 

Mandatory Credit: Zack Hill Flyers PR - Flyers Twitter

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