Flyers vs. Canucks Preview: The Post-Holiday Road Trip
The unofficial start to the second half of the NHL season begins with the first game after the holiday break. For the Flyers, that means the annual post-holiday Western Canada road trip gets underway.
The Flyers first game out of the holiday break is an immediate test. The Vancouver Canucks entered the holiday break with the most points in the NHL and look to build on a strong first half.
Game time is 10 p.m.
Team Leaders Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Vancouver Canucks GP G A P Travis Konecny 33 16 11 27 J.T. Miller 35 15 33 48 Travis Sanheim 32 4 20 24 Quinn Hughes 35 10 34 44 Sean Couturier 31 9 14 23 Elias Pettersson 35 13 30 43 Joel Farabee 33 11 11 22 Brock Boeser 35 24 14 38 Owen Tippett 33 12 9 21 Filip Hronek 35 2 27 29
Joel Farabee finished the pre-holiday portion of the schedule strong with two assists against Detroit in the team’s last game. In total, he has three assists in the last three games.
Quinn Hughes has been among the league leaders in points all season, and continued his production in the last three games with a goal and four assists. Hughes had just three assists in the six games prior.
Sam Ersson gets the start for the Flyers. Ersson made 27 saves on 30 shots in a loss to the Predators in his last start on Dec. 21. That snapped a personal three-game winning streak for Ersson.
Casey DeSmith gets the start for the Canucks. DeSmith made 26 saves on 28 shots in his last start on Dec. 19 against the Predators. DeSmith has made just three starts in December, with the Canucks getting points in each game.
Projected LineupsFlyers Scratches: Noah Cates (injury), Marc Staal (healthy), Rhett Gardner (healthy)
Canucks Scratches: Tucker Poolman (injury), Carson Soucy (injury),Guillaume Brisebois (injury), Mark Friedman (healthy), Phillip Di Giuseppe (healthy)
Lineup Notes Flyers: Egor Zamula comes back into the lineup and Marc Staal will be a healthy scratch. No other changes are expected. Canucks: No changes are expected to the Canucks lineup. Game Notes Power Play: Flyers (10.6% – 32nd), Canucks (24.2% – 9th) Penalty Kill: Flyers (85.7% – 4th), Canucks (77.8% – 23rd) Recent History vs. Canucks Oct. 17, 2023 – Flyers 2, Canucks 0 (at PHI) Flyers Leaders vs. Canucks Sean Couturier: 17 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 13 P Rasmus Ristolainen: 16 GP, 2 G, 10 A, 12 P Cam Atkinson: 19 GP, 6 G, 5 A, 11 P Travis Konecny: 12 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 P Carter Hart: 7 GP, 4-1-2, 1.98 GAA, .930 SV% Where to Watch TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia Radio: Flyers Broadcast Network
