Flyers-Kraken Preview: Hart Back in Goal, No Ristolainen Yet for Flyers

The Flyers season got underway on Friday with a shootout loss to Vancouver. Now, the Flyers will welcome the NHL's newest franchise to Wells Fargo Center for the first time.

The Seattle Kraken and former Flyers head coach Dave Hakstol come into Philadelphia with a 1-1-1 record through three games. The Flyers will be in search of their first win of the season.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Seattle Kraken	GP	G	A	P
Joel Farabee	1	1	1	2	Brandon Tanev	3	3	0	3
Keith Yandle	1	0	2	2	Jared McCann	3	2	1	3
Ryan Ellis	1	0	2	2	Ryan Donato	3	1	1	2
Sean Couturier	1	0	2	2	Alex Wennberg	3	1	1	2
Claude Giroux	1	1	0	1	Joonas Donskoi	3	0	2	2

Sean Couturier was instrumental in the final two goals the Flyers scored late in the third to complete the comeback on Friday night. Couturier assisted on both goals in the final three minutes. Look for him to continue his production in this game on Monday night.

Brandon Tanev has experienced early success for Seattle. After being held scoreless in Seattle's debut, Tanev had two goals in the team's first win in franchise history in Nashville, then scored the only goal in the overtime loss to Columbus on Saturday.

Carter Hart's season got off to a rough start, allowing four goals and then two more in the shootout to take the opening-night loss. All four goals were scored in the second period, and Hart did bounce back to stop all 15 shots faced in the third period and six more in overtime. Still, Hart needs to have a performance to build on, and he gets another chance in goal on Monday night.

Philipp Grubauer is back in goal for Seattle, making his fourth start of the season already. After allowing four goals in the season opener in Vegas, Grubauer bounced back with 27 saves in the win over Nashville and 23 saves in the overtime loss to Columbus.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Patrick Brown (COVID protocol), Jackson Cates (healthy)

Kraken Scratches: Yanni Gourde (injury), Calle Jarnkrok (injury), Vince Dunn (injury), Colin Blackwell (injury), Alex Barré-Boulet (healthy), Will Borgen (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: No changes for the Flyers from their opening-night lineup. Nick Seeler was sent down on Sunday for cap purposes, but returns to play in place of Rasmus Ristolainen, still day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Patrick Brown remains on COVID protocol and Zack MacEwen remains on the non-roster list while awaiting his US Visa.
Kraken: Only one change to the Seattle lineup, as Alex Barré-Boulet comes out of the lineup for Kole Lind. The rest of the lineup remains the same as the Kraken deal with some early-season injuries.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (9th), Kraken (9th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th), Kraken (12th)
Milestone Watch
- Carter Hart needs one win to reach 50 for his career.
- Ryan Ellis needs three assists for 200 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
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.