Hoping to see the powerplay a few more times against a historically undisciplined Philadelphia team. I thought McFarland was on the right track going back to last year's set up, as this year's set up has been nowhere near as effective at generating shot attempts & xG. Obviously the entries have been awful this season, but even the in-zone set up should improve drastically with Marner back in his playmaking niche, and Matthews with his catch & release on the left. Nylander as a right handed, one-timer threat in the bumper spot with Marner on the right will be and interesting change from Kadri last season as well.
That aside...we've had fun games against Philadelphia in the last few seasons. Went 2-0-1 last year with a 17-11 score. Remember that Johnsson hatty? That was one of my favourite games of the year. Anyways, I'd rather a bit more of a disciplined, tight game from the boys in this one, but it's a Saturday night, and frankly, I just want them to start November with a win. Better goaltending (hopefully), better defensive depth with Dermott getting up to speed, a better PP, and better EVS performance from the top six are what I'm expecting this month, so I hope to see that against Philadelphia.