Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (19-11-7) are in British Columbia on Tuesday night to take on Adam Foote's Vancouver Canucks (16-19-3). This is the second and final meeting between the teams this season.
Game time at Rogers Arena is 10:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on NBCSP.
On December 22, the Flyers earned a 5-2 home win over the Canucks. The game was scoreless until 13:13 of the second period. Nikita Grebenkin tallied on a deflection goal.
In the third period, goals by Carl Grundstrom and Christian Dvorak opened a three-goal edge for Philadelphia. Max Sasson ended the shutout bid with less than seven minutes remaining. The Flyers got the insurance goal back on an Owen Tippett goal off the rush. Finally, Drew O'Connor rounded out the scoring.
Dan Vladar stopped 22 of 24 shots to earn the win. Vancouver's Thatcher Demko turned back 34 of 38 shots. The next night, the Flyers skated to a 3-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
In their first game back from the NHL's holiday break, the Flyers suffered a 4-1 loss in Seattle on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Canucks sustained a 6-3 home loss to the San Jose Sharks before they captured a 3-2 (1-0) shootout home win against Seattle on Monday.
Over their respective last 10 games, the Flyers are 4-2-4 and the Canucks are 6-4-0.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch in Vancouver on Tuesday.
1. Between the pipes
The Flyers are in the second game of a three-in-four gauntlet and the front end of a back-to-back. The Canucks are in the second half of a back-to-back and their third game in four nights.
Philly already knows that Demko will be in goal for Vancouver. Kevin Lankinen made 37 saves on Monday before going 3-for-3 in the shootout. Tocchet has not yet announced the Flyers' starting goalie for Tuesday.
However, based on Monday's practice reps, it looks like Samuel Ersson could get the call in Vancouver. If so, Dan Vladar will play his former teammates in Calgary on New Year's Eve.
2. The Cates Line
In the ongoing absence of Tyson Foerster, second-year winger Matvei Michkov (9g, 11a, 20 points) has taken a spot on a line with Noah Cates (9g, 11a, 20 points) and Bobby Brink (9g, 8a, 17 points).
Michkov played a strong game -- including his lone goal to date in December -- the last time the Flyers played Vancouver. Meanwhile, Cates took a four-game point streak (2g, 2a) into the holiday break before the streak ended in Seattle.
Brink had two points in the Flyers' loss in Buffalo on Dec. 18. His most recent goal came against Montreal two nights earlier. Brink had three shots on goal in 15:09 of ice time (19 shifts) in the previous game against the Canucks.
3. Grundstrom adding fourth-line stability
In ten games since his most recent recall from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, veteran winger Carl Grundstrom has helped solidify the Flyers' fourth line as part of a trio with Grebenkin and center Rodrigo Abols.
The line as a whole had a stellar game against Vancouver on Dec. 22. Individually, Grundstrom has chipped in six goals over his last ten games. Grebenkin has three points over the last three games. Abols has four points over his last four games (1g, 3a).
4. Flyers power play
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play in Seattle on Sunday. The first power play generated all sorts of pressure (including four shots on goal). The second was decent but not equal to the first.
The third and final man advantage came with the Flyers trailing 1-0 in the second period. The opponent was caught with too many men on the ice. This was a vital opportunity for Philly but it went by the wayside. Seattle came into Sunday's game ranked last (32nd) in the NHL on the PK.
For the season, the Flyers' power play has slipped to 25th in the NHL at a 16.3 percent success rate. Philly went 0-for-1 on the power play against Vancouver on Dec. 22. The Canucks' PK ranks 30th in the NHL at 75 percent success.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver power play ranks 12th leaguewide at 20 percent success. The Philadelphia PK, which did not face any shorthanded situations in Seattle on Sunday, ranks ninth in the NHL (82.5 percent).
