The Flyers will have a tough week ahead as they take on the Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators and Edmonton Oilers. The Panthers have struggled on the road, the Predators will likely be without Nick Bonino and the Oilers are just struggling to start the season off. It may not look like it's going to be a tough week, but it could be if the Flyers don't get decent goaltending and play defense.
On Tuesday night, the Flyers take on Jonathan Huberdeau and the Panthers. Philly has to get the first goal of the game since they have won all three games in which they have done so. The Orange and Black will need to use the crowd to get off to a fast start and establish the forecheck and cycle game early so they can spend some time in the offensive zone. The Flyers need to bring its balanced attack that they have and roll out all four of its line. It would be nice if Philly could get its third line of Dale Weise, Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny going with some attack time and chances in the offensive zone. The Flyers need to keep an eye on the top six forwards of the Panthers especially Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgeni Dadonov since those two lead the team in points.
Florida will need to win the special teams battle, and take advantage of a somewhat weak penalty kill by the Flyers. The Panthers should establish the forecheck game early so they can spend time in the offensive zone to minimize chances by Philadelphia. Florida will need a solid 60 minute road effort to beat the Flyers since they seem to get better as the game goes on. The Panthers need to bring their skating legs and keep short shifts especially in the third period since that it is the Flyers best period. Florida needs to find a way to stop the top line of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier and Jake Voracek because the managed to rack up 10 points in an 8-2 win over the Capitals on Saturday night.
On Thursday night, the Flyers will have a rematch against the Nashville Predators, who they lost 6-5 to last week in the final three minutes of the game. The Orange and Black need to use its speed to attack the Predators and force turnovers. The Flyers need to get the first goal, not sit back and then start taking penalties. The will have to watch out for the speed of the Predators in transition especially Filip Forsberg. Philly will need be disciplined and stay out of the penalty box since the can really score with the man advantage.
The Predators need to be careful since this is a revenge game for Philadelphia. Nashville is going to need to stay out of the penalty box since Philly's power play can put the puck in the net. The Preds will need to figure out a way to stop the balanced attack of the Flyers. If Nashville learned anything in its 6-5 win against Philly last week, it should have been to get the puck on net because Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth can be shaky at times during a game. The Predators need to watch out for the defense of the Flyers joining the play in the offensive zone.
The Flyers end the week with a visit from the struggling Edmonton Oilers and Connor McDavid. Philly need to keep the top six of the Oilers off the board. They'll need to get pucks on net with traffic for deflections. The Oilers penalty kill hasn't been great so far this year so the Flyers need to take advantage when they are up a man. Philadelphia needs to skate, keep its feet moving, draw penalties and have speed going through the neutral zone to keep the defensemen of the Oilers honest.
Edmonton will need to win the special teams battle since the Flyers penalty kill isn't the best in the NHL. The Oilers need to get the first goal of the game. Edmonton needs to have better starts to games since they have been outscored 6-2 in the first period. The Oilers will need to play a full 60 minutes and limits its mistakes. Edmonton are going to need to keep an eye on the speed of Philadelphia especially through the neutral zone.
