Alain Vigneault
Now at 34 years-old, 15-year NHL veteran Derick Brassard is making an immediate impact with the Orange and Black, scoring five points in his first three games with the team.
The Flyers 6-1 win over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night was more than just the contributions from new faces and plenty of familiar ones on the scoresheet. It was another early indication that this team is already tight with each other and willing to go to battle and defend each other.
Before the puck drops on the Flyers 2021-22 season, their busy offseason and several new faces bring about a number of storylines. Let’s take a look at 10 storylines that are worth watching this season for the Flyers.
Alain Vigneault announced on Thursday that Rasmus Ristolainen and Patrick Brown will miss Friday’s season opener for the Flyers. In their place, Nick Seeler will play and Max Willman will make his NHL debut.
The Flyers claimed forward Zack MacEwen from the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday. To make room for MacEwen on the roster under the salary cap limit, the Flyers placed Kevin Hayes on long-term injured reserve.
On Wednesday, the Flyers made 10 roster cuts, bringing the roster to 24 healthy players and 32 overall. Five players were assigned to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, headlined by forward Morgan Frost. Four more, including Connor Bunnaman, were placed on waivers.
Monday’s win for the Flyers over the Bruins required overtime, despite Boston icing their ‘B’ team. Part of that was quality goaltending. But the Flyers also showed that they are still a work in progress in some areas as the preseason draws closer to an end.
The guys start by addressing Robin Lehner’s tweets and the allegations against the Flyers and Alain Vigneault before diving into the first three games of the preseason. They look at some of the new faces like Ryan Ellis, Rasmus Ristolainen, Cam Atkinson and Keith Yandle and their performances and evaluate how some of the lines have played together.
The Flyers defeated the Capitals on Saturday night, but it was more than just the team winning a game for the first time this preseason. It was the players that really stood out and the coming together of a bunch of new faces to show signs that this season could be different in terms of the mood around the team.
Saturday night will present the next opportunity for players to put the drills and systems worked on in camp to the test. As the Washington Capitals come to town, the Flyers will ice a more experienced lineup. Game time is 7 p.m.
