Flying Forward: Weekly Preview 3/11/18-3/17/18

The Philadelphia Flyers will look to move up the playoff standings this week, but it won't be easy.

On Monday night, they'll face the Vegas Golden Knights, who are first in the Pacific Division. The Blue Jackets come to town on Thursday night in a game that could loom big for both teams. The Flyers end their week with a visit to Carolina on St. Patrick's Day.

The Flyers need to get off to a fast start against the Golden Knights tonight. They should set the tone early and be prepared to play with some energy from the beginning of the game. Philadelphia will want to establish the forecheck and cycle game early to get sustained offensive zone pressure to get some pucks on net and scoring chances. Petr Mrazek needs to have a stellar game and make saves. The Flyers should keep an eye on Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlson since they are the two top point producers for Vegas.

Vegas should get plenty of shots on goal in this game and test the Flyers goalie early, who has been inconsistent the past few games. The Golden Knights need to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. Vegas should try to win the battle of special teams with some power play goals. The Golden Knights want to play a solid road game and keep an eye on the Flyers top line since they have been playing well since being put together.

The Orange and Black will host the Blue Jackets on Thursday night and expect this game to be a close one. The Flyers need to be discipline because they have a poor penalty kill. The team is going to need to limit their mistakes and watch out for the speed of the Blue Jackets. Philly will need to get a ton of traffic around the front of the net for screens and deflections. The goaltending for the Flyers will need to come up big since Columbus has been playing good hockey of late and averages 34 shots per game.

Columbus will also want to play with some discipline even with the Flyers power play struggling of late. The Blue Jackets should try to win the special teams battle since the teams are both decent at even strength hockey. Columbus needs to get off to a fast start and get a goal early or make a play that gets the team energized. The Blue Jackets will want to have the lead after two periods since they are a much better team when leading heading into the third period then when trailing. Columbus should know where Claude Giroux and Jake Voracek are on the ice at all times ice since they have decent career numbers against them.

The Flyers end the week with another divisional foe in the Carolina Hurricanes. Philly needs to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of the game. The Orange and Black want to play a solid road game and not make it easy for the Canes to do whatever they want on the ice. The Flyers need to win the battle at even strength since the opposition has outscored the Hurricanes 142-118 at even strength play this year; The Flyers will need to keep an eye on Jeff Skinner and Justin Williams since those two have not been kind to the Flyers in their careers.

The Hurricanes will want to play a team defense game with the forwards helping out. Carolina needs to get a good game from the starting goaltender. The Canes need to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking and not sit back. The Hurricanes should avoid the penalty box at all costs since their penalty kill has been an area of concern this season. Carolina will need to be aware of then defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere is on the ice since he has 10 points in 11 career games played against them.

Leafs Notes: Weekly Preview 12/31/17-1/6/18

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a busy week with four games in seven days. They look to gain some ground on the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are in first place in the Atlantic Division, but it won't be easy.

On Sunday afternoon, the Leafs will take on the Vegas Golden Knights, who have only two regulation loses and one overtime loss at home so far. Toronto will then come home to face the Lightning on Tuesday night, which should be a good game. The San Jose Sharks will visit the Air Canada Centre on Thursday night, and they are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games. On Saturday night, the Leafs will take on the Vancouver Canucks, who have been struggling lately.

The Maple Leafs have a tough task trying to win in Vegas since the Golden Knights are 15-2-1 on home ice this year. Toronto will need to play good team defense and not have a big gap between the forwards and defense, since the Golden Knights are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games played. The Leafs must stay focused, get tons of shots on net and have traffic around the net for second chance opportunities. The Maple Leafs needs to have a solid effort for 60 minutes and not have any lapses in judgment or play sloppy and turn the puck over. Toronto need to use their transition speed and be accurate with their passes. The Leafs need to figure out a way to stop the balanced attack of the Golden Knights, and one way to do that is to have a good forecheck game and sustained offensive pressure.

The Golden Knights will need to stay out of the penalty box since they are killing off less than 80% of the penalties taken, and the Leafs have the 5th best power play in the NHL. Vegas will need to get off to a fast start and play with good energy from the drop of the puck. The Golden Knights should try to force turnovers and pressure the puck carrier since the Leafs will turn the puck over and give up some decent scoring chances off of turnovers. Vegas will need the goaltending to be really good in order to win and not to let in any soft goals. The Golden Knights must find a way to stop Mitch Marner, who has been playing a lot better lately and creating with his speed.

On Tuesday night, it's going to be a big game against division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Toronto must stay out of the penalty box since the Bolts have the best power play in the League. The Maple Leafs need to have the lead entering the final period since they have one win when trailing entering the third period. The Leafs must have a big game from the goaltender since the Bolts will have their chances and the goalie will need to come up with some big saves. Toronto should try to get off to a fast start, get the first goal, and keep the home crowd involved in the game early. The Maple Leafs must find a way to stop the duo of Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, who have dominated for the Lightning so far this year.

Tampa Bay must play with some discipline because they have one of the worse penalty kills the League, while the Leafs have one of the best power plays in the NHL. The Lightning need have the lead entering the final period since they only have two wins when trailing entering the third and final period of regulation. The Bolts should try to have some crisp passing and use the stretch pass to get some quick transition opportunities and odd man rushes. Tampa Bay need to limit their mistakes and turnovers because the Leafs will capitalize on them. The Bolts should get the first goal of the game to get the home crowd out of the game.

On Thursday night, the Sharks will visit the Leafs. The Maple Leafs want to be patient but have quick puck movement since the Sharks don't give up too many goals to the opposition. Toronto needs to get shots on goal with plenty of traffic in front of the net because the goalies for the Sharks are pretty good. The Leafs should try to get the first goal of the game and keep attacking the Sharks. The Maple Leafs need to have the lead entering the final period of the game. They will also want to find a way to stop Joe Thornton and Brent Burns, who can act like a fourth forward when he is out on the ice.

The Sharks will need to get some good goaltending from either Martin Jones or Aaron Dell. They should get their forecheck and cycle game going early and often. San Jose need to play with discipline and not take any dumb penalties. The Sharks will need to get off to a better start since they have been outscored in the first period of games by three goals. The Sharks must get traffic in front of the Leafs net because if the goalies can see the puck then they will likely stop it.

The Canucks come to town on Saturday night ending a tough week for the Leafs. Toronto must not play down to their opponent, who has two wins their last 10 games played. The Leafs want to take advantage of a weak penalty kill of the Canucks, and cash in on as many power play opportunities as they can. The Maple Leafs will want to find a way to shut down Brock Boeser, who has had an excellent rookie season so far. Toronto should force turnovers and finish their chances. The Leafs need to find a way to have a solid, 60 minute effort with no defensive lapses.

The Canucks will need to get the first goal of the game to build some confidence and help get off to a fast start. Vancouver must stay out of the penalty box and play with discipline. The Canucks want the goaltending and team defense to be on point, and not give up too many chances or goals. Vancouver should be aware of the speed and creativity of Mitch Marner. The Canucks need to play a solid, 60 minute road game and not give up too much to the Leafs.