Flyers-Golden Knights: Game 1 Preview

Kevin Durso

October 4 2018

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

It is officially opening day for the Flyers. The NHL season opened on Wednesday night, but the Flyers take the ice for the first time on Thursday night, marking a new beginning with the start of the 2018-19 season.

The Flyers first opponent is certainly a challenge, the team that defied the odds a year ago to be Western Conference Champions. The Vegas Golden Knights, and the fanfare of a home opener and banner ceremony, await as the first of 82 opponents for the Flyers.

Game time is set for 10 p.m.

Team Leaders (2017-18)

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Vegas Golden Knights	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	82	34	68	102	William Karlsson	82	43	35	78
Jake Voracek	82	20	65	85	Jonathan Marchessault	77	27	48	75
Sean Couturier	82	31	45	76	Reilly Smith	67	22	38	60
Shayne Gostisbehere	78	13	52	65	Erik Haula	76	29	26	55
Travis Konecny	81	24	23	47	Colin Miller	82	10	31	41

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	71 William Karlsson
Last 5 Games: N/A	Last 5 Games: N/A

After last season, how can you not look to Claude Giroux. The first and last goals of the regular season belonged to the Flyers captain last season and after putting up a career-high 102 points and leading his team to the playoffs, Giroux is ready for more.

You could really pick anybody from Vegas' top line, but it was William Karlsson who came from out of nowhere to score 43 goals last season. Whether on the power play, penalty kill or even strength, he's always a threat.

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	29 Marc-Andre Fleury
2017-18: 23-11-7, 2.66 GAA, .909 SV%	2017-18: 29-13-4, 2.24 GAA, .927 SV%

Brian Elliott gets the start for the Flyers in the season opener. He had a decent regular season in 2017-18, but suffered an injury down the stretch and never really recovered enough to get back to form. He gets a fresh start in 2018-19.

It was a year of resurgence for Marc-Andre Fleury in 2017-18. He had a tremendous year with great numbers all the way through, though he did miss time with injury. He was also excellent throughout the playoff run until the Stanley Cup Final, when the Golden Knights ultimately fell short. Either way, now locked into a nice new contract with Vegas, Fleury is here to stay and set to embark on another season.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Corban Knight, Alex Lyon

Scratches: Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Christian Folin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	24 Mikhail Vorobyev	17 Wayne Simmonds
21 Scott Laughton	15 Jori Lehtera	12 Michael Raffl
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim	3 Radko Gudas
8 Robert Hagg	47 Andrew MacDonald
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Not too many surprises in the Flyers lineup to start the season. Jori Lehtera starts at center on the fourth line, presumably to keep Scott Laughton on the wing. This pushes Jordan Weal out of the lineup. Dale Weise and Christian Folin are the other healthy scratches.

Golden Knights Projected Lineup

Injuries: Cody Eakin, Alex Tuch

Scratches: Jake Bischoff, Brad Hunt

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
81 Jonathan Marchessault	71 William Karlsson	19 Reilly Smith
67 Max Pacioretty	26 Paul Stastny	56 Erik Haula
92 Tomas Nosek	24 Oskar Lindberg	40 Ryan Carpenter
28 Will Carrier	41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	75 Ryan Reaves
Defense
3 Brayden McNabb	6 Colin Wilson
27 Shea Theodore	5 Deryk Engelland
15 Jon Merrill	22 Nick Holden
Goalie
29 Marc-Andre Fleury

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (2017-18: T-15th, 4th on road), Golden Knights (2017-18: 11th, 10th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (2017-18: 29th, 24th on road), Golden Knights (2017-18: T-10th, T-7th at home)
Recent History vs. Golden Knights
- Feb. 11, 2018 – Flyers 4, Golden Knights 1 (at VGK)
- March 12, 2018 – Golden Knights 3, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Golden Knights
- Claude Giroux – 2 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
- Sean Couturier – 2 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
- Travis Konecny – 2 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P
Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs 1 assist to pass Bill Barber for 3rd on the Flyers all-time list.
- Jake Voracek needs 2 assists to reach 400 in the NHL.
- James van Riemsdyk need 1 point to reach 100 as a Flyer.