Flyers-Kraken: Game 30 Preview

Kevin Durso

December 29 2021

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

It feels like a year since the Flyers last took the ice on Saturday, Dec. 18, against the Ottawa Senators. That night, they scored an overtime win and extended their points streak to five games before the NHL eventually shut down due to an extensive COVID outbreak around the league.

COVID is still running wild in the NHL and the rest of the world, but the Flyers make their return with five new additions to the COVID protocol list over the last several days, but also three players back from protocols. They will face the Seattle Kraken in their return, opening up a four-game road trip on Wednesday night.

Game time is 10 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Seattle Kraken	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	29	11	14	25	Jordan Eberle	28	12	9	21
Cam Atkinson	29	12	8	20	Jaden Schwartz	28	6	14	20
Sean Couturier	29	6	11	17	Jared McCann	25	12	5	17
Travis Konecny	29	5	12	17	Yanni Gourde	22	6	10	16
Joel Farabee	22	8	3	11	Alex Wennberg	30	3	13	16

Joel Farabee made his return to the lineup in the team's last game and scored the game-tying goal. Prior to suffering a shoulder injury on Dec. 1, Farabee had also scored in three straight games. The extended break gave Farabee even more time to let his shoulder rest up and he should be looking to pick up where he left off again.

Jordan Eberle has led the Kraken with 21 points and is tied for the team lead in goals with 12. Prior to the pause, Eberle had four assists over his previous four games, but was also on a five-game goalless drought. Eberle appeared to have a goal on his stick when Seattle faced the Flyers in October, but an incredible save by Carter Hart turned the tide.

Martin Jones will get the start for the Flyers. Jones makes his first start since Dec. 11, when he picked up the win over the Arizona Coyotes, allowing three goals on 32 shots. That snapped a string of five straight starts with losses for Jones.

Philipp Grubauer gets the start for Seattle. Grubauer took the loss in his last start on Dec. 15, allowing three goals on 18 shots in 40 minutes of action. Grubauer's last win came on Dec. 3 and he has a personal four-game losing streak since then. Grubauer was also pulled after allowing five goals on 20 shots to the Flyers on Oct. 18.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Carter Hart (COVID protocol), Sean Couturier (COVID protocol), Scott Laughton (COVID protocol), Derick Brassard (COVID protocol), Ryan Ellis (COVID protocol), Nate Thompson (injury), Nick Seeler (healthy)

Kraken Scratches: Ryan Donato (COVID protocol), Vince Dunn (COVID protocol), Mason Appleton (COVID protocol), Adam Larsson (healthy), Alexander True (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Max Willman, Kevin Hayes, and Morgan Frost all make their return from COVID protocol. On Monday, the team announced that Carter Hart, Scott Laughton, and Derick Brassard had entered COVID protocol, joining previous additions of Sean Couturier and Ryan Ellis. Ellis remains out with injury. The remaining names on the COVID list are not expected to be available for the duration of the road trip.
Kraken: Seattle has four players in COVID protocol. It was also recently announced that Brandon Tanev suffered a torn ACL and will be out for the remainder of the season.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (26th), Kraken (22nd)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Kraken (16th)
Recent History vs. Kraken
- Oct. 18, 2021 – Flyers 6, Kraken 1 (at PHI)
Milestone Watch
- Travis Konecny needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.
- Claude Giroux needs one assist to reach 600 for his career.
- Giroux also needs one point to pass Bill Barber for second on the franchise's all-time scoring list.
- Cam Atkinson needs three assists to reach 200 for his career.