Desperate Flyers face rookie goalie in key matchup vs. Bruins; Brian Elliott goes for Philly
The Flyers enter a critical stretch starting Monday in Boston, the team they are chasing for a playoff berth.
With 20 games left in the abbreviated NHL season, the Flyers need to be in desperation mode the rest of the way.
Every game, every shift. There is little margin for error for a team fighting an uphill climb to secure a playoff berth. It starts Monday in Boston, the team the Flyers are trying to overcome to get into the playoffs.
“We can’t afford to lose any big games,” right winger Jake Voracek said.
The Bruins are 5-0 against the Flyers this season, with two lopsided wins and three victories in which they overcame third-period deficits.
“I think we’re just deep, and we have the belief in our room that we’re never out of a game,” Boston star Brad Marchand told the Boston Herald earlier this season. “We almost seem to play a little bit better when we’re down. We just know that we can come back from any situation. When we play our game, when we play the way we know we can, we’re a tough team to play and we’re going to create opportunities. At some point, they’ll break. It may not happen in the first or second, but we’re going to break teams.”
The Flyers and Bruins will meet three times this week, starting with home-and-home matchups Monday in Boston and Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers are four points behind the Bruins for the fourth and final East Division playoff spot. Boston has two games in hand.
» READ MORE: For Flyers goalie Carter Hart, was it a one-game mirage or the start of a revival? | Sam Carchidi
The Rangers are also in the hunt. They are tied with the Flyers for fifth place with 39 points, but the Blueshirts have played one more game.
Vladar in nets for B’s
Boston rookie Daniel Vladar will make his fourth start of his career. He has a 2.03 GAA and a .929 save percentage in three appearances this season.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound Vladar, 23, was a third-round selection in the 2015 draft. He will be making his first appearance against the Flyers.
Tuukka Rask, the Bruins’ star goalie, had been battling an upper-body injury. He will travel with the Bruins this week and practice, but he will not face the Flyers in either of the next two games.
Veteran Brian Elliott, who has a 2.99 GAA and .888 save percentage, will start for the Flyers.
It’s a mild surprise that Carter Hart (3.92 GAA, .871 save percentage) didn’t get the call. He is coming off a strong performance in a 3-2 shootout loss Saturday to the Islanders. Hart will start Tuesday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Sizzling players
Flyers: Claude Giroux has four goals in his last five games, and Sean Couturier has six points in that span. Voracek leads the Flyers with 18 points in 17 road games.
Bruins: In the last five games, Brad Marchand has five goals and seven points, and David Krejci has seven assists. David Pastrnak has six goals and eight points in three games against the Flyers this season.
Breakaways
Oskar Lindblom will be rested and will be replaced by Michael Raffl. ... Third-line left winger Jake DeBrusk will return to the Bruins’ lineup after being out because of the COVID-19 protocol. ... The Flyers and Bruins will wrap up their eight-game season series Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. ... The Flyers have lost six straight to Boston over the last two seasons. The last time they lost seven in a row to Boston was from 1970 to 1972, when they dropped 15 straight. ... James van Riemsdyk has eight points, including four goals, in eight in five games against Boston this season.