GDT: Round Robin #3: FLYERS (away) vs. Lightning (home) at Toronto, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020, 8:00 pm ET

[MiamiScreamingEagles]

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (43-21-6) vs. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (41-21-7)
Round robin records: Tampa Bay 2-0-0, Philadelphia 2-0-0

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BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Television: NBC, SN360, SN1, TVAS
  • John Forslund + Mike Milbury + Brian Boucher
• Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic unless a change to 93.3 WMMR - Everything That Rocks!
• Flyers 24/7: Flyers Radio 24/7
• Streams: Do not post or request any streams or links to unauthorized sites.
• Online Streaming: nbcsportsphiladelphia.com and the MyTeams app by NBC Sports

TEAMS' WEBSITES

• Flyers' Facebook: Security Check Required
• Flyers' Twitter: Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) | Twitter
• Flyers' Website: Official Philadelphia Flyers Website
• Lightning's Website: Official Tampa Bay Lightning Website

GAME PREVIEW, NOTES and STATISTICS

• Preview:
  • HockeyBuzz.com - Bill Meltzer - Flyers RR Gameday: 8/8/20 vs. TB
  • Two key players will be out as ‘matured’ Flyers face Tampa Bay with East’s No. 1 seeding on the line
  • https://nhl.bamcontent.com/images/assets/binary/318335828/binary-file/file.pdf
• NHL Stats: NHL.com - Stats
• Flyers' Stats: Philadelphia Flyers Stats | 2019-2020
• Lightning's Stats: Tampa Bay Lightning Stats | 2019-2020

TEAMS' STATISTICS

Team	GP	Record	Pts	Home	Away	GF	GA	PP%	PK%	FO%
Lightning	70	43-21-6	92 (4th)	22-10-2	21-11-4	243 (1st)	194 (22nd)	23.1 (5th)	81.4 (14th)	50.5 (11th)
Flyers	69	41-21-7	89 (6th)	25-6-4	16-15-3	232 (7th)	191 (8th)	20.8 (14th)	81.8 (11th)	54.6 (1st)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

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Possible Lineup
Lines

28 Claude Giroux -- 14 Sean Couturier -- 49 Joel Farabee
21 Scott Laughton -- 13 Kevin Hayes -- 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk -- 38 Derek Grant -- 62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
82 Connor Bunnaman -- 44 Nate Thompson -- 18 Tyler Pitlick​

Pairings

9 Ivan Provorov -- 15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim -- 5 Phil Myers
53 Shayne Gostisbehere -- 61 Justin Braun​

Goalies

79 Carter Hart is the expected starter.
37 Brian Elliott
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Power Plays -- (adjustments will be made by the team based on personnel)

PP1: Claude Giroux, Travis Konecny, Sean Couturier, Joel Farabee, Ivan Provorov
PP2: Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Matt Niskanen, Shayne Gostisbehere
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Injuries and Scratches

3 Andy Welinski (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
8 Robert Hagg (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
10 Andy Andreoff (healthy) could be scratched as a spare forward.
12 Michael Raffl (left leg) is out indefinitely.
19 Nolan Patrick (migraine disorder, Sep. 26) was placed on LTIR Nov.22. He is not on 31-man roster.
23 Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, Dec. 13; is cancer-free) could play in September. He is on 31-man roster.
34 Alex Lyon (healthy) could be scratched as a spare goalie.
48 Morgan Frost (healthy) could be scratched as a spare forward.
54 Egor Zamula (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
59 Mark Friedman (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
67 Kirill Ustimenko (healthy) could be scratched as a spare goalie.
93 Jake Voracek (undisclosed) will not play.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Web site -- Philadelphia Flyers - News, Scores, Schedule, Roster - The Athletic
Alexander Appleyard's Twitter -- Alexander Appleyard (@avappleyard) | Twitter
Charlie O'Connor's Twitter -- Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) | Twitter​

Hockey Buzz

Web site -- HockeyBuzz.com - NHL Rumors
Bill Meltzer's Twitter -- Bill Meltzer (@billmeltzer) | Twitter​

NBC Sports Philadelphia

Web site -- https://www.nbcsports.com/philadelphia/flyers​

NHL.com

Adam Kimelman's Twitter -- Adam Kimelman (@NHLAdamK) | Twitter​

Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer

Web site -- Philadelphia Flyers
Sam Carchidi's Twitter -- Sam Carchidi (@BroadStBull) | Twitter​

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Possible Lineup
Lines

18 Ondrej Palat -- 21 Brayden Point -- 86 Nikita Kucherov
17 Alex Killorn -- 71 Anthony Cirelli -- 9 Tyler Johnson
19 Barclay Goodrow -- 37 Yanni Gourde -- 20 Blake Coleman
67 Mitchell Stephens -- 13 Cedric Paquette -- 14 Pat Maroon ​

Pairings

77 Victor Hedman -- 24 Zack Bogosian
27 Ryan McDonagh -- 81 Erik Cernak
98 Mikhail Sergachev -- 22 Kevin Shattenkirk​

Goalies

88 Andrei Vasilevskiy is the expected starter.
35 Curtis McElhinney ​

Power Plays

PP1: Brayden Point, Alex Killorn, Tyler Johnson, Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman
PP2: Pat Maroon, Anthony Cirelli, Yanni Gourde, Ondrej Palat, Mikhail Sergachev
​

Injuries and Scratches

2 Luke Schenn (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
7 Mathieu Joseph (healthy) could be scratched as a spare forward.
23 Carter Verhaeghe (healthy) could be scratched as a spare forward. He did not skate on Friday.
29 Scott Wedgewood (healthy) could be scratched as a spare goalie.
44 Jan Rutta (possibly affects of a blocked shot) is doubtful.
55 Braydon Coburn (healthy) could be scratched as a spare defenseman.
91 Steven Stamkos (lower body) is not expected to play.
92 Alexander Volkov (healthy) could be scratched as a spare forward.
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MEDIA CONTACTS
Athletic, The

Web site -- The Athletic (@TheAthleticTB) | Twitter
Joe Smith's Twitter -- Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) | Twitter​

Fox Sports Sun

Web site -- Tampa Bay Lightning News, Schedule, Scores, Stats, Roster
Paul Kennedy's Twitter -- Paul Kennedy (@PaulKennedyFOX) | Twitter​

Lightning Insider

Web site -- Lightning Insider | Breaking News, Game Recaps and Schedules | Tampa Bay Lightning
Erik Erlendsson's Twitter -- Lightning Insider (@Erik_Erlendsson) | Twitter​

Raw Charge

Web site -- Raw Charge (@RawCharge) | Twitter​

Tampa Bay Lightning

Bryan Burns' Twitter -- Bryan Burns (@BBurnsNHL) | Twitter​

Tampa Bay Times

Web site -- Tampa Bay Lightning, hockey news
Diana Nearhos's Twitter -- Diana C. Nearhos (@dianacnearhos) | Twitter​

FLYERS (0-2-0) vs. LIGHTNING (2-0-0) 2019-20 RESULTS

Date	Result	First Star	Highlights
Jan. 11, 2020	Tampa Bay 1 at Philadelphia 0	Andrei Vasilevskiy	Vasilevskiy 23-save shutout; Maroon scored; TB 10th straight win which tied a team-record
Feb 15, 2020	Philadelphia 3 at Tampa Bay 5	Andrei Vasilevskiy	Vasilevskiy 30-save win; TB 10th straight win which tied a team-record

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FLYERS' ROUND-ROBIN SCHEDULE [subject to change]

Date	Opponent (all games at Toronto)	Time (ET)	Television
Sunday, Aug. 2	Philadelphia 4 at Boston 1	3:00 pm	NBC, SN, TVAS
Thursday, Aug. 6	Washington 1 at Philadelphia 3	4:00 pm	NBCSN, NHL.TV, SN360, TVAS, NBCSP, NBCSWA
Saturday, Aug. 8	Philadelphia at Tampa Bay	8:00 pm	NBC, SN360, SN1, TVAS

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

FROM THE PAST

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GAME DAY THREAD MUSIC

"Driver's Seat" by Sniff 'N the Tears
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Click to read more...

 

[CanadianFlyer88]

This game is gravy.

Would really like to win it, but am already content that the Flyers can't play the Lightning unless it's in the ECF.

It would be nice to see some shuffling of the bottom six to get some speed into the lineup (Frost/JVR in - Thompson or Grant + maybe Pitlick out). And also hoping for Ghost-Braun, but expecting Ghost-Friedman.

 

[FLYERSFAN18]

Agreed about being content with 2 seed, but winning this would go a long way in helping us beat TB if we had to.

Giroux and Voracek are going to have to step up in this one for us to win IMO

 

[Flyer lurker]

In my best Sting voice. If you love somebody set them free. FREE FREE SET GHOST FREE.

 

[TheKingPin]

Get the PP and top line going and I’ll be happy. Get Ghost and JVR back and productive and ill be happy too.

No Rask
No Carlson
No Kuzy for a time.
Maybe no Stamkos

Certainly balances for Patrick and Lindblom

 

[DancingPanther]

Dudes, I promise I actually am gonna be watching this one low leverage style with it being only for 1or 2 seed, but....

Let's f***in beat this team behind Hart and show the hockey world that this team is going to be big f***ing trouble for the next 5 years at least

 

[DancingPanther]

“When Oskar was diagnosed with cancer, I had numerous talks with our doctors about, ‘Is there a chance I could get him back for the playoffs?’ Obviously the answer was no, he wouldn’t,” Flyers coach Alain Vigneault told reporters Wednesday. “But come next training camp in September he should be back if everything went the way they thought, and things have gone the way they thought.
“This year, with the stoppage in play and the COVID factor, the season has been stretched out and September is a less than a month away. So I was told come training camp he’d be able to play in September so I guess we have to get to September.”

AV on Oskar. That's a f***ing badass line.

September it is boys.

 

[FLYguy3911]

I can't believe how easy they made it to get a higher seed.

Take advantage of it.

 

[dragonoffrost]

Get the PP and top line going and I’ll be happy. Get Ghost and JVR back and productive and ill be happy too.

No Rask
No Carlson
No Kuzy for a time.
Maybe no Stamkos

Certainly balances for Patrick and Lindblom

And don't ... DON'T split Laughton, Hayes, Konecny. It's working. Ride it.

 

[orangey]

Pet peeve but why list the 3rd line wings on the off side? I know the beats reported it that way but you know AV has them lined up on the strong side with his defensive focus. Plus how much have they even played the other side in their career? Prob only with another same handed winger, which isn't the case here.

 

[TB87]

Barkowitz is worried about the Flyers getting the 1st seed in the conference because recent playoff history of 1st seeds has been hit or miss.


These playoffs are a totally separate beast from any that have come before it due to the demon whore that is COVID-19.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

Barkowitz is worried about the Flyers getting the 1st seed in the conference because recent playoff history of 1st seeds has been hit or miss.

Those teams were on their way to Cups until someone wrote a little #1 next to their names. It was all downhill from there.

 

[FLYguy3911]

NAK played almost exclusively LW his last two years in Junior. Farabee has quite a bit of experience playing RW between USA, BU, and this year with the Flyers. It doesn't make much sense to switch them on their off-sides on the same line, but they can do it.

 

[dragonoffrost]

Barkowitz is worried about the Flyers getting the 1st seed in the conference because recent playoff history of 1st seeds has been hit or miss.


These playoffs are a totally separate beast from any that have come before it due to the demon whore that is COVID-19.

This roster is also a different animal than those recent #1 seeds that choked.

 

[orangey]

NAK played almost exclusively LW his last two years in Junior. Farabee has quite a bit of experience playing RW between USA, BU, and this year with the Flyers. It doesn't make much sense to switch them on their off-sides on the same line, but they can do it.

Sure they can do it but I doubt AV is putting two kids on the off side on his 3rd line that is basically a checking line. Like how much would you bet? Just silly to list them that way.

 

[orangey]

This roster is also a different animal than those recent #1 seeds that choked.

It's not like they are an offensive juggernaut that ran into a strong checking team. They are the deep and strong checking team that can cool off flashy lines and teams while still scoring enough. First seed only helps them and has nothing to do with regular season hockey, exhibitions, what happened 5 months ago or anything else. They are strong and ready right now.

 

[DancingPanther]

Time to wash breakfast down with the tears of Leaf nation hahahahahahaha

 

[dragonoffrost]

Time to wash breakfast down with the tears of Leaf nation hahahahahahaha

Oh it's going to be glorious if it's Torts that sent them packing.

6 Elimination games today. I wish I was home to just drink beer and watch.

 

[DancingPanther]

Oh it's going to be glorious if it's Torts that sent them packing.

6 Elimination games today. I wish I was home to just drink beer and watch.

Might be the first time in my life I'm glad it's raining at the beach

 

[Flyotes]

I can't be the only one that goes through Capfriendly 3x a day analyzing the Flyer's roster...

... and also views the rest of the league. And then also views any team that gets eliminated to look at their future and what they squandered this year, right?

 

[TCTC]

Imagine getting the opportunity to play the entire playoffs in your own building and you don't even make it to the 1st round. The off-season in Toronto and/or Edmonton would become very interesting.

 

[dragonoffrost]

Might be the first time in my life I'm glad it's raining at the beach

I'll probably get home just as Pit/Mon is ending. It was my luck yesterday to get home as the Flyers ended.

 

[Striiker]

Imagine thinking playing in your own building means anything when it’s completely empty and you’re living out of a hotel.

 

[dragonoffrost]

Imagine thinking playing in your own building means anything when it’s completely empty and you’re living out of a hotel.

Only thing it would help is a few games of knowing the bounces off the boards better than your opponents. But probably after a round or two that would go away.

 

[JojoTheWhale]

This roster is also a different animal than those recent #1 seeds that choked.

I strongly object to painting #1 seeds as chokers if they don't win a Cup, but mostly I'm afraid we're getting a little bit carried away here.

We can and should be very excited without taking it this far.