Wrapping up a five-game homestand, Rick Tocchet's Philadelphia Flyers (6-4-1) host Ryan Huska's Calgary Flames (2-9-2) on Sunday evening. Both clubs played on Saturday. The Flyers dropped a 5-2 decision to the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Flames lost 4-2 to the Nashville Predators.
Game time on Sunday is 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on NBCSP+ locally and NHL Network nationally.
Saturday's game against Toronto saw the Flyers start strong and finish with a late push. Unfortunately, the Flyers got outplayed in between as their three-game winning streak came to an end. Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster (power play) scored in a losing cause. Dan Vladar was pulled early in the third period after Toronto scored their fourth goal of the game.
Several Flyers got banged up in the game against Toronto. Foerster blocked a shot off the inside of his left foot but returned to the game. Bobby Brink went into the boards awkwardly as he was hit from behind by the Maple Leafs' Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
Additionally, Rodrigo Abols received five stitches after he badly bit his tongue during the second period. He returned to the game. Meanwhile, there was good news with team captain Sean Couturier (injury) did not play on Saturday but participated in the morning skate. His availability is uncertain for the tilt against Calgary.
The Flames got two-thirds of the way back from a 3-0 deficit against the Predators but fell short. An empty-netter sealed it for Nashville. Jonathan Huberdeau and former Flyers winger Joel Farabee scored during the comeback bid. Dustin Wolf was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots. Former Flyers forward Morgan Frost saw a five-game point streak come to an end.
The Flames, who missed the playoffs via tiebreaker last year, have only won once since a comeback win over Edmonton on opening night. The team has regularly found ways to lose games they probably would have won a season ago.
Here are the RAV4 Things to watch on Sunday.
1.Flyers forecheck
Calgary has trouble scoring most of the early season to date. Meanwhile, they've suffered from ill-timed puck management issues. Opponents can forecheck the Flames into both forced and unforced errors. The Flyers have an opportunity -- and must -- pressure the puck against a potentially skittish opponent.
2. Shooting mentality
Against Toronto, the Flyers fell back into the habit of passing up open shots to seek tic-tac-toe plays that weren't there to be made. Additionally, Philly did not generate nearly enough traffic in front of the net.
3. An opportunity for Kolosov?
The Flyers are playing their third game in four nights, as well as the second half of a back-to-back. Tocchet said on Saturday that he's not inclined to start the same goaltender (Vladar) in all of the games. Meanwhile, Samuel Ersson (lower-body injury) is on IR. Consequently, Aleksei Kolosov could get the start in net for Philly. Kolosov stopped all seven shots he faced in relief of Vladar in the third period of Saturday's game against Toronto.
4. Special team battle
The Flyers have started to come around on the power play after a rough start. Overall, the club is 19.4 percent (19th) on the man advantage but has already allowed three shorthanded goals The Flyers' penalty kill has been stout all season and checks in at 90 percent (2nd). Calgary is just 12.5 percent on the power play (30th) and 76.9 percent (19th) on the penalty kill.
