Flyers-Blackhawks: Game 8 Preview

Kevin Durso

October 24 2019

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers were finally able to find the finishing touch and get a few bounces to go their way as they put an end to a four-game losing streak on Monday against Vegas. After a couple games on home ice, the Flyers hit the road again for a quick trip to Chicago.

The season series between the Flyers and Blackhawks will wrap on Thursday night as the Flyers look to build on Monday's win. They previously defeated the Blackhawks in the season opener on Oct. 4 in Prague, winning by a score of 4-3.

Game time is at 8:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Chicago Blackhawks	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	7	4	6	10	Patrick Kane	7	3	5	8
Oskar Lindblom	7	4	2	6	Alexander Nylander	7	2	2	4
Sean Couturier	7	2	3	5	Alex DeBrincat	7	2	2	4
Ivan Provorov	7	2	3	5	Brandon Saad	7	2	2	4
Jake Voracek	7	2	2	4	Dylan Strome	7	1	3	4

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	88 Patrick Kane
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, -4	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, -2

There hasn't been a hotter player on the team to start the season than Travis Konecny. Konecny added his fourth goal of the season in the last game, his first since the home opener on Oct. 9, but has points in six of the seven games the team has played this season. Of course, Konecny also scored twice in the season opener against the Blackhawks.

Patrick Kane is always one to watch for Chicago, with a great shot and a lot of skill. Kane did get a goal late against the Flyers in the season opener and was involved in all three goals for Chicago, adding two assists. In the six games since, Kane has five points.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	40 Robin Lehner
3 GP, 1-1-0, 2.55 GAA, .925 SV%	3 GP, 1-0-2, 1.94 GAA, .943 SV%

Brian Elliott gets another start in goal after making 33 saves in Monday's win over Vegas, playing a large role in the win during the early stages of the game. It is Elliott's third start of the season.

The Blackhawks will turn to Robin Lehner again in goal. Lehner has started three games so far this season and has seen a healthy amount of work in each. Lehner was less than two minutes away from securing a shutout win on Tuesday before a late goal forced overtime and Vegas claimed victory in the shootout.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Sam Morin, Tyler Pitlick

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton	13 Kevin Hayes	49 Joel Farabee
12 Michael Raffl	24 Mikhail Vorobyev	44 Chris Stewart
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	61 Justin Braun
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

Following Monday's win over Vegas, no changes are expected to the Flyers lineup for Thursday's game in Chicago.

Blackhawks Projected Lineup

Injuries: John Quenneville, Connor Murphy

Scratches: Brendan Perlini, Zack Smith, Dennis Gilbert

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Alex DeBrincat	19 Jonathan Toews	65 Andrew Shaw
17 Dylan Strome	77 Kirby Dach	88 Patrick Kane
20 Brandon Saad	64 David Kampf	8 Dominik Kubalik
92 Alex Nylander	22 Ryan Carpenter	91 Drake Caggiula
Defense
2 Duncan Keith	44 Calvin de Haan
6 Olli Maatta	7 Brent Seabrook
68 Slater Koekkoek	56 Erik Gustafsson
Goalie
40 Robin Lehner	50 Corey Crawford

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (5th), Blackhawks (25th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (23rd), Blackhawks (24th)
Recent History vs. Blackhawks
- Nov. 10, 2019 – Flyers 4, Blackhawks 0 (at PHI)
- March 21, 2019 – Flyers 3, Blackhawks 1 (at CHI)
- Oct. 4, 2019 – Flyers 4, Blackhawks 3 (at PHI – in Prague, Czech Republic)
Flyers Leaders vs. Blackhawks
- Claude Giroux – 17 GP, 5 G, 18 A, 23 P
- Sean Couturier – 13 GP, 5 G, 6 A, 11 P
- Jake Voracek – 31 GP, 6 G, 17 A, 23 P
- Brian Elliott – 21 GP, 9-9-1, 2.27 GAA, .922 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.