NHL Preview: Philadelphia Flyers at Columbus Blue Jackets

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Columbus Blue Jackets logo

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME BROADCAST INFO.
Sat., Nov. 12 Ottawa Senators Wells Fargo Center 1 p.m. NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR
Sun., Nov. 13 Dallas Stars Wells Fargo Center 1 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
Tue., Nov. 15 Columbus Blue Jackets Nationwide Arena 7:30 p.m. ESPN+/Hulu, 97.5 The Fanatic

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Cam Atkinson upper body 9/25-present 12
Patrick Brown IR-back 9/21-present 12
Sean Couturier back 9/19-present 12
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 12
James van Riemsdyk IR-upper body 10/27-present 6
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 68

PREVIOUS INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Carter Hart illness 11/8 1
Owen Tippett upper body 10/15-10/27 5
Rasmus Ristolainen lower body 10/13-10/27 6
Felix Sandstrom lower body 10/1-10/17 2

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
11/9 – Recalled D Egor Zamula from Lehigh Valley (AHL) and loaned G Samuel Ersson to the Phantoms
11/8 – Recalled G Samuel Ersson from Lehigh Valley and loaned D Egor Zamula to the Phantoms

FLYERS VS. BLUE JACKETS: HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS BLUES
17-15-11 ALL-TIME RECORD 23-15-5
11-9-2 HOME 13-4-4
6-6-9 ROAD 10-11-1
3-2-0 LAST 5 MEETINGS 2-2-1
5-3-2 LAST 10 MEETINGS 5-4-1
124 GOALS SCORED 118
13.8% POWER PLAY 18.8%
81.2% PENALTY KILL 86.2%
Hayes: 22 pts (8-14=22) in 24 GP
Konecny: 19 pts (7-12=19) in 18 GP
Provorov: 10 pts (1-9=10) in 19 GP
Ristolainen: 10 pts (2-8=10) in 19 GP
TEAM SCORING LEADERS Gaudreau: 16 pts (5-11=16) in 13 GP
Jenner: 14 pts (9-5=14) in 28 GP
Nyquist: 10 pts (2-8=10) in 23 GP
Hart: 1-3-0, 2.57 GAA, .906 SV% in 4 GP
Sandstrom: Has not faced CBJ
TEAM GOALTENDERS Merzlikins: 2-2-1, 3.13 GAA, .906 SV5 in 5 GP
Korpisalo: 1-2-0, 3.63 GAA, .889 SV% in 3 GP

2022-23 SEASON SERIES (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
November 10 Nationwide Arena 7 p.m.
November 15 Nationwide Arena 7:30 p.m.
December 20 Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m.
April 11 Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m

TEAM NOTES
QUICK HITS

  • Philadelphia has allowed the opposing team to score first in nine of its 12 games this season but ranks T-1st in the NHL with five wins when trailing first in a game.
  • The Flyers rank second in the League in fewest goals against (29) and fourth in fewest goals against per game (2.42).
  • Philadelphia is 4-1-2 in one-goal games this season, ranking T-5th in the NHL in one-goal game wins.
  • The Flyers own eight power-play goals in 12 games this season, including four PPG in the last six contests.
  • Philadelphia killed a season-high five penalties on Saturday for the second time this season, also, Oct. 15 vs. VAN. The club has killed 21-of-24 penalties in the last seven games, ranking T-4th in the NHL in penalty kill percentage (87.5) since Oct. 23. The Flyers are 34-of-41 on the PK this season, ranking eighth in penalty kill percentage (82.9).

NOVEMBER TO REMEMBER

  • The Flyers play nine road games this month – the most road games in a single month this season.
  • Philadelphia plays 15 contests this month, its most in a month this season and the ninth time in franchise history the Flyers plays 15-plus games in the month of November:

RISING TALENT

  • The Flyers have five rookies (four skaters and one goalie) on the current roster and leads the NHL with seven rookies appearing in at least one NHL game this season.
  • This season, the rookies have collectively recorded 11 of the team’s 91 points for a 12.1 team rookie scoring percentage.
  • Philadelphia ranks sixth in the NHL in team rookie scoring percentage and T-6th in team rookie points.
  • The rookies have netted a combined five goals to rank second among NHL team rookie goal percentage (15.2) and T-2nd in rookie goals.
  • Wade Allison leads team rookies in goals (3), points (4) and shots (21) and ranks T-3rd on the team in hits (32). He ranks third among NHL rookies in hits, T-3rd in EVG (3), T-4th in goals, T-5th in plus/minus rating (+4) and T-7th in shots.
  • Goaltender Felix Sandstrom earned his first NHL win Tuesday night to become the third Swedish-born goalie in team history to record a victory (Pelle Lindbergh & Tommy Soderstrom).

KONNECT FOUR

  • Travis Konecny tallied two points (1-1=2) Tuesday to stretch his point streak to three games (1-4=5).
  • He owns eight points (1-7=8) in the last six games, including three multi-point contests.
  • He leads the team in goals (5), points (14), shots (38) and multi-point games (6) and ranks T-1st in game-winning goals (2) this season.
  • The forward recorded his first career shorthanded assist/point vs. VAN (10/15).
  • The 25-year-old netted two goals Oct. 13 vs. NJ for his 11th career multi-goal game. Per NHL Stats, he became the second player in Flyers history to have two-or-more multi-goal games in a season opener (Bill Barber, 3x, 10/9/80, 10/9/81 & 10/7/82).
  • He ranks second in Flyers history in GWG (18), third in goals (115), fourth in scoring (285) and assists (170) and fifth in PPG (21) since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

WHOLE LOT OF HART

  • Carter Hart stopped 33-of-34 shots Saturday at OTT to extend his point streak to eight games (6-0-2).
  • Per NHL Stats, he is the fourth goaltender in team history to have started a season on an eight-game point streak Pete Peeters (22-0-5 in 1979-80), Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (8-0-0 in 1993-94).
  • He ranks second among NHL goaltenders in SV% (.946), T-5th in wins and fourth in GAA (1.97).
  • He made a career-high 48 shots and tied his career high with 51 shots faced vs. FLA on Oct. 27.
  • He recorded a career-high season-opening five-game win streak.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the seventh goaltender in Flyers history to win each of his first five games of a season and first since Ron Hextall (5-0-0 in 1995-96). The longest such stretch in franchise history is eight straight games, achieved by Dominic Roussel (1993-94) and Bob Froese (1982-83).
  • The 24-year-old’s 48 saves tied for the eighth-most by a Flyers goaltender while his 51 shots faced T-10th. Per NHL Stats, his 48 saves mark the highest single-game save total by a Flyers goaltenders since Steve Mason on March 22, 2016 (51 at CBJ).
  • Three of his eight contests this season have seen 37-plus shots against, and he is 16-2-2 in his career when making 36-plus saves.
  • Outside of Philadelphia, he only has two NHL teams he has not earned a win against: Colorado and St. Louis.

LUCKY NUMBER 13

  • Kevin Hayes ranks second on the team with four multi-point games, including three multi-point games in the last nine contests.
  • The 30-year-old leads the team in assists (10), ranks T-2nd in PPA (4) and second in points this season.
  • He collected eight points (1-7=8) in a career-high five-game season-opening point streak, Oct. 13-22.
  • He tallied his 200th career assist Oct. 19 at FLA.
  • Set a career-high three-game PPP streak (3a) from Oct. 13-18.

TIP OF THE HAT

  • Owen Tippett collected two points (1-1=2) Tuesday for his first multi-point game of the season, his sixth career.
  • The forward owns five points (3-2=5) in the last six games.
  • He ranks T-1st on the team in PPG (2), T-2nd in goals (3) and third in shooting percentage (18.8) this season.
  • The 23-year-old has 12 points (7-5=12) in 28 career games with the Flyers in two seasons.

IVAN THE GREAT

  • Ivan Provorov ranks third on the team in shots (27), T-3rd in assists (6) and fifth in hits (28) this season.
  • The 25-year-old leads the Flyers and ranks fourth in the NHL with 39 blocked shots.
  • He tallied two assists, a plus-4 rating and 10 blocked shots in Philadelphia’s season opener on Oct. 13 vs. NJ.
  • His 10 blocked shots tied the franchise record for most in a game for the third time: Andrew MacDonald (3/11/16); Provorov (11/2/17 & 10/13/22).
  • The Russian native needs one more goal to tie Shayne Gostisbehere (60) for fourth place in Flyers history among defensemen.

WELCOME HOME

  • Tony DeAngelo ranks T-2nd on the team in PPP (5), third in points (8) and T-3rd in assists (6) this season. He also ranks T-7th among NHL defensemen in PPP.
  • He recorded five points (1-4=5) in a four-game point streak, Oct. 13-19.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the fifth defenseman in Flyers history to start a season on a point streak of at least four games: Behn Wilson (7 games in 1981-82), Chris Pronger (5 games in 2011-12), Gary Galley (four games in 1993-94) and Mark Howe (four games in 1988-89 & 1984-85).
  • The blueliner scored his first goal in a Flyers sweater, on the power play, Oct. 15 vs. VAN.
  • The Sewell, NJ native, made his Flyers debut on Oct. 13, registering two assists, a plus-3 rating and three blocked shots in a team-high 23:46 TOI.

STEADY AT THE HELM

  • Head Coach John Tortorella became the second head coach to win each of his first three games behind the Flyers bench – only Paul Holmgren (4-0-0 in 1988-89) had done so to date. Tortorella, who has coached four other NHL clubs, has never won each of his first three games behind a team’s bench. (NHL Stats)
  • He is 680-544-171 in 1,395 career games as an NHL head coach.
  • He ranks second amongst U.S.-born head coaches in all-time wins. Per NHL Stats, he will become the 12th head coach in NHL history to reach 700 wins.
  • He is five games shy of becoming the 12th head coach in NHL history to serve 1,400 regular season games.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

Nov. 10, 2022 Game No. 13 (3-9-0, 6 pts.)
vs Philadelphia Flyers (7-3-2, 16 pts.), Nationwide Arena Home Game No. 8 (2-5-0, 4 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.

THE LAST GAME: NOV. 5, 2022 – CBJ 5 vs COL 1
CBJ Goal Scorers: PP – Jenner (2)
COL Goal Scorers: Lehkonen (3), Kaut (1), O’Connor (3), Toews (1), Newhook (2)
Goalies: CBJ – Korpisalo (40/45; 59:51); COL – Georgiev (31/32; 59:21)
CBJ PP: 1/1; PK: 1/1 | Shots: CBJ: 32 / COL: 45
3 Stars: 1. Makar, COL; 2. MacKinnon, COL; 3. Lehkonen, COL
Noteworthy: CBJ lost 5th consecutive game… CBJ scored lone goal 12:27 into the 1st period to tie the game, 1-1… COL scored 4 unanswered goals (3 in 2nd and 1 in 3rd) to win… CBJ scored PPG for 2nd-straight game… Jenner scored a goal giving him points in 2 consecutive contests (1-1-2)… Werenski recorded an assist in 2nd-straight game (0-2-2)… Roslovic tallied his team-leading (tied) 5th assist of the campaign… Korpisalo stopped 40-of-45 shots in his 1st start since Mar. 22, 2022 (due to hip surgery).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Luoto (lower body); Placed on Injured/Non-Roster (Oct. 10); (12 games)
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); 6 months; (6 games)
Boqvist (broken foot); Placed on IR (Oct. 26); 6 weeks; (4 games)
Voracek (upper body); out indefinitely (1 game)
Kuraly (upper body); day-to-day
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 43

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 8 Recalled Gaunce from Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 7 Recalled Bemstrom from Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 6 Assign Jiricek and Tarasov to Cleveland (AHL)
Nov. 4 Activated Blankenburg off IR and assigned Bayreuther to Cleveland (AHL)
Oct. 30 Recalled Korpisalo from Cleveland (AHL)
Oct. 29 Activated Korpisalo off the Injured/Non-Roster list and loaned him to Cleveland (AHL) and placed Blankenburg on IR
retroactive to Oct. 23

TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 105.7 FM

AGAINST THE FLYERS
2022-23 Series: 0-0-0 (0-0-0 vs. PHI)
2021-22 Series: 2-1-0 (0-1-0 vs. PHI)
All-Time Series: 23-15-3-2 (13-4-2-2 vs. PHI)
Last 10 (Overall | Home): 5-4-1 | 6-2-2
All-Time GF/GA: 118/124
All-Time SF/SA: 1,236/1,345
All-Time PP: 25-of-133
All-Time PK: 137-of-159

THE LAST GAME: APR. 7, 2022 – CBJ 1 vs PHI 4
CBJ Goal Scorers: SHG – Robinson (9)
PHI Goal Scorers: Connauton (1), Tippett (8), Cates (2), Konecny (13)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (27/31; 60:00); PHI – Jones (26/27; 59:27)
CBJ PP: 0/2; PK: 4/4 | Shots: CBJ: 27 / PHI: 31
3 Stars: 1. Tippett, PHI; 2. Cates, PHI; 3. Jones, PHI
Noteworthy: CBJ won season series 2-1-0 with visiting team winning all 3 contests… CBJ scored a SHG in the 1st period, but PHI scored final 4 goals… Robinson scored his 2nd SHG of season.
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Nov. 15 at CBJ… Dec. 20 at PHI… Apr. 11 at PHI

NOTED (Team Highlights vs. PHI)
CBJ are 21-9-2 vs. PHI since the start of the 2013-14 season… PHI have won the past 3 games at Nationwide Arena (CBJ; 0-2-1) after snapping a 14-game CBJ home points streak from Dec. 27, 2008-Feb. 28, 2019 (13-0-1)… Columbus killed off all 12 Flyers’ power play attempts in the 3-game series in 2021-22… Winning team has scored 4+ goals in 4 of the last 5 played at NWA and 10 of the past 12 overall dating back to 3/15/18… 9 of last 13 games at Nationwide Arena have been decided after regulation (6-OT, 3-SO)… Most goals scored vs. PHI: 6 (2x, MR: 10/18/18)… Most goals allowed vs. PHI: 4 (2x, MR: 4/7/22).
NOTED (Player Highlights vs. PHI) Bean skated in his 100th career NHL game on 4/5/22 at PHI… Gavrikov notched his 1st career NHL assist on 10/26/19 at PHI… Korpisalo earned 1st NHL win on 12/19/15 vs. PHI.

SCORING NOTABLES vs. PHI
•Gaudreau – 5-11-16 in 13 career GP, including points in 10 of his 13 played with three three-point efforts
•Gavrikov – 0-3-3 in 6 career GP, including assists in two of his three games played at Nationwide Arena
•Jenner – 9-5-14 in 28 career GP, including assists in his last two contests played against Philadelphia (0-3-3)
•Laine – 4-3-7 in 11 career GP, including 1-3-4 in five career home games vs. the club

2022 GLOBAL SERIES RECAP
Columbus plays for the first time on Thursday since returning from the 2022 Global Series against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche at Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland from November 4-5, going 0-2-0 in the series. The trip marked the second time the Blue Jackets have played games in Europe. The club opened the 2010-11 season with a pair of games against the San Jose Sharks at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden as part of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere.

NICE TO SEE YOU, NOVEMBER
The Blue Jackets’ game against the Flyers on Thursday kicks off a stretch of seven-of-eight games played at Nationwide Arena from November 10-25. The lone game played out of the state of Ohio is Saturday’s game at the NY Islanders. Thursday’s contest also begins a stretch of three-straight games against Metropolitan Division foes and eight consecutive vs. Eastern Conference division opponents.

TWO DIFFERENT STRETCHES
Nine of the club’s first 12 games were competed against teams that made the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including facing off against the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche twice and Stanley Cup finalist once (Tampa Bay Lightning). The next five games – and seven of the next eight – will be played against teams that failed to make the postseason.

TORTS’ RETURN
Thursday’s game against Philadelphia sees the return of former Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella to Nationwide Arena for the first time. He was hired as the Flyers’ bench boss this past summer after serving as an analyst for ESPN in 2021-22. Tortorella is the
winningest coach in club history, guiding the team to a 227-166-54 record (.568 pt. pct.) in 447 games from 2015-21 and led the club to four-straight playoff appearances from 2016-20, including a historic sweep over pthe Presidents’ Trophy-winning Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2019 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. It will be a reunion of sorts behind the benches as Tortorella, along with current Flyers associate coach Brad Shaw, and CBJ head coach Brad Larsen served as one staff from 2016-21.

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER NIGHT
The Blue Jackets, in partnership with OhioHealth, present Hockey Fight’s Cancer Night on Tuesday, November 15 when the club hosts the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena. The club will honor those who have experienced or are currently battling cancer. All fans in
attendance will receive a HFC rally towel, have the opportunity to fill out “I fight for __” cards and are encouraged to wear lavender to show their support.

THE COMEBACK BLUE JACKETS
Columbus earned victories when trailing by multiple goals in back-to-back wins over Vancouver (2-0) on Oct. 18 and Nashville (2-0 and 3-1) on Oct. 20. It was the fifth time in franchise history that the team has earned consecutive multi-goal comeback wins (MR: Feb. 8-10, 2022). These victories have a familiar feeling to the club’s wins in 2021-22 when CBJ set a franchise record after coming back at some point in the game in 23 of their 37 wins. The club finished sixth in the NHL in comeback victories last season. The team also trailed only Florida (11) with nine come-from-behind victories when trailing heading into the third period.

ROOKIE REPORT
The club’s rookies, consisting of forwards Liam Foudy and Kent Johnson along with defenseman Nick Blankenburg have had a strong start to the season, combining for 4-7-11 in 12 games. They have helped CBJ rank firth-T among NHL teams in goals and seventh-T in points. Johnson, who was selected fifth overall at the 2021 NHL Draft, ranks fourth-T among NHL rookies in goals and ninth-T in points with 3-3-6 in 11 games. He has registered 3-2-5 in the past eight contests, including recording goals in three-straight games from Oct. 22-25 (3-0-3) and points in four consecutive outings from Oct. 20-25 (3-1-4).

CAPTAIN BOONE JENNER
Boone Jenner, who scored the Blue Jackets’ lone goal vs. Colorado on Saturday, has recorded 2-4-6 in 12 games this season and ranks 10th in the NHL in faceoff wins (142-of-250 faceoffs; 56.8 pct.).The 29-year-old, who was selected 37th overall at the 2011 NHL
Draft, is the longest-tenured Blue Jacket in his 10th season with the club, including his second as the team’s captain. The forward skated in his 600th career game on Friday vs. Colorado, becoming just the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise. He also ranks third on the franchise’s all-time list in goals and fifth in points with 146-144-290.

RK PLAYER TOTAL GP SEASONS WITH CBJ

  1. Rick Nash 674 2002-12 (9 seasons)
  2. Cam Atkinson 627 2011-21 (10 seasons)
  3. Boone Jenner 601 2013-current (10 seasons)
  4. Nick Foligno 599 2012-21 (9 seasons)
  5. David Savard 597 2011-21 (10 seasons)

HERE’S JOHNNY!
Six-time All-Star left wing Johnny Gaudreau leads the club in scoring with 5-4-9 in 12 games, while recording points in seven of his contests. The winger had a five-game points streak from Oct. 14-22 (4-3-7) and a five-game home points streak from Oct. 14-25 (4-2-
6). It was the third-longest home points-streak to start a player’s tenure in franchise history. He played in his 306th consecutive game on Saturday, the third-longest active iron man streak in the NHL and trailing only Phil Kessel (996) and Brent Burns (692). The Salem, New Jersey native, who signed a seven-year contract with Columbus in July, has collected 215-403-618 in 614 NHL games, including a career-high 40-75-115 in 82 games with Calgary last season when he earned First Team All-NHL honors.

DON’T SLEEP ON Z
Defenseman Zach Werenski, who recorded an assist in back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday against Colorado, has posted 2-4-6 in 12 games this season, leading the club’s blueliners in scoring, assists and goals (tied; Andrew Peeke). The two-time NHL All-Star
blueliner set single-season career highs in assists, points and time on ice and posted the third-most assists (tied) and points by a defenseman in a single season in franchise history with 11-37-48 and 25:40 TOI in 68 games in 2021-22. He has averaged .76 points-per-game dating back to Feb. 10, 2022 in recording 7-22-29 in 38 contests.

UP IN CLEVELAND
Columbus’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters, have kicked off the 2022-23 season going 5-5-0 after a 4-2 victory against the Chicago Wolves on Saturday. Before being recalled to Columbus on Monday, forward Emil Bemstrom (7-7-14, tied for AHL lead in scoring), recorded his second three-point game for the Monsters this season with 2-1-3 on Saturday, while forward Brendan Gaunce (4-7-11), who was recalled on Tuesday by Columbus, tallied an assist. Kirill Marchenko (6-6-12, leads AHL rookies in goals and second in points) has also had a strong start to the AHL season, collecting points in nine of ten games in 2022-23. The Monsters host the Grand Rapids Griffins on Wednesday, Nov. 9.