Flyers-Blues Preview: Facing the Central

The Flyers hit the road on Tuesday and continued their road losing streak to start a five-game trip. That trip only gets tougher as the Flyers go through the gauntlet of Central Division teams all in playoff position.

That begins on Thursday night against the St. Louis Blues, a team slipping a bit with a 3-4-3 record in the month of March.

Game time is 8 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	St. Louis Blues	GP	G	A	P
Cam Atkinson	63	23	25	48	Jordan Kyrou	58	22	39	61
Travis Konecny	61	10	30	40	Vladimir Tarasenko	55	20	34	54
Joel Farabee	45	13	16	29	Pavel Buchnevich	53	19	29	48
Scott Laughton	54	11	17	28	Robert Thomas	52	12	36	48
James van Riemsdyk	63	15	11	26	Ivan Barbashev	61	19	25	44

Travis Konecny has gone six games without a goal, but has six assists in that time, including four in the last two games. His 30 assists on the season lead the team. While goals have been hard to come by – Konecny had five goals in the first 15 games of the season and has just five in his last 46 – he is playing with more energy and getting more involved in the scoring. In 19 games since Feb. 1, Konecny has 16 points.

David Perron has been on fire lately. He's on a current seven-game points streak with 10 goals and three assists for 13 points in that time. Since returning to the lineup on Feb. 10, Perron has 14 goals and seven assists for 21 points in 17 games. Prior to that, he had just eight goals and 21 points in 31 games.

Martin Jones gets the start for the Flyers. Jones was solid in his last start, making 33 saves on 35 shots in a loss to the Senators on Friday. Jones has been solid in his last four starts, allowing just nine goals and posting a .926 save percentage in that time.

Jordan Binnington is in goal for the Blues. Binnington allowed four goals on 37 shots in an overtime loss to the Jets in his last start on March 13. Binnington has appeared in just three games in the month of March and four games since making the start in Philadelphia on Feb. 22, where he made 25 saves on 26 shots in a win.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Nate Thompson (injury), Scott Laughton (injury), Oskar Lindblom (injury)

Blues Scratches: Torey Krug (injury), Tyler Bozak (injury), Scott Perunovich (injury), Mackenzie MacEachern (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Hayden Hodgson makes his NHL debut. Oskar Lindblom is out of the lineup with a minor injury. The team will once again dress 11 forwards and seven defensemen.
Blues: Torey Krug is out week-to-week with an injury. Vladimir Tarasenko and Robert Thomas both return to the Blues lineup after brief absences.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (32nd), Blues (3rd)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (26th), Blues (7th)
Recent History vs. Blues
- Feb. 22, 2022 - Blues 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Blues
- Cam Atkinson - 21 GP, 5 G, 13 A, 18 P
- Oskar Lindblom - 3 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 P
- Travis Konecny - 8 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Martin Jones - 14 GP, 6-6-2, 1.97 GAA, .926 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: ESPN+/Hulu
Radio: Flyers Broadcast Network

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.