Flyers-Kraken Preview: Into the Deep

The Flyers may have won Thursday's game against Winnipeg, 4-1, but you wouldn't know it from John Tortorella's postgame press conference. It lasted just north of 60 seconds, and Tortorella was able to use his hands to demonstrate just how much he saw from the team in the final two periods: a whole lot of nothing.

It remains about the standard for the Flyers, and it wasn't met completely in either game the team has played since returning from the All-Star break. After a sloppy opening period, the Flyers battled to a win in Florida. The first-period surge against Winnipeg was enough for a second straight win out of the break.

Next up, the Flyers continue the three-game homestand against the Seattle Kraken, a team that got the better of them in overtime following the Christmas break, and that needs every point they can to remain in the playoff race. Seattle had lost six of their last eight games entering the break, and makes their return for their first game back on Saturday night.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Seattle Kraken	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	52	24	21	45	Oliver Bjorkstrand	50	13	27	40
Joel Farabee	52	17	24	41	Vince Dunn	46	8	29	37
Sean Couturier	48	10	21	31	Jared McCann	49	20	15	35
Owen Tippett	48	18	13	31	Eeli Tolvanen	50	13	17	30
Cam Atkinson	51	13	15	28	Jordan Eberle	46	9	19	28

Tyson Foerster opened the scoring on Thursday night and picked up his third goal in the last three games. Now up to 10 goals and starting to produce with more regularity – five goals in the last 11 games – he's definitely worth a closer look as his development continues.

Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 20 goals on the season, but lately has been helping set up goals. In the final 10 games before the break, McCann had seven assists to go along with six goals.

Cal Petersen gets the start for the Flyers. Petersen makes his first start since Nov. 11, when he made 35 saves on 37 shots in a win against Los Angeles. Petersen has one other appearance since then, playing in relief on Jan. 27 against Boston. He allowed two goals on 14 shots.

Joey Daccord is expected to start for the Kraken. Daccord took the loss in his last start, allowing one goal on 21 shots to the Sharks. Daccord has lost five of his last seven starts, despite allowing just 17 goals in that time. He made 27 saves on 28 shots in a win over the Flyers on Dec. 29.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Olle Lycksell (healthy), Egor Zamula (healthy), Marc Staal (healthy)

Kraken Scratches: Kailer Yamamoto (healthy), Ryker Evans (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Rasmus Ristolainen returns to the lineup after missing last game with illness. Egor Zamula will be a healthy scratch and Marc Staal exits the lineup as well. Nick Deslauriers also comes back into the lineup.
Kraken: No lineup changes are expected from the last game prior to the break.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (12.9% - 31st), Kraken (21.7% - 15th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (85.7% - 2nd), Kraken (78.8% - 20th)
Recent History vs. Kraken
- Dec. 29, 2023 - Kraken 2, Flyers 1 (F/OT) (at SEA)
Flyers Leaders vs. Kraken
- Travis Konecny: 5 GP, 4 G, 2 A, 6 P
- Rasmus Ristolainen: 4 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P
- Travis Sanheim: 5 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P
- Sam Ersson: 1 GP, 0-0-0, 4.20 GAA, .818 SV%
- Cal Petersen: 5 GP, 2-1-2, 3.44 GAA, .873 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Morgan Frost plays in his 200th NHL game tonight.
- Joel Farabee needs four assists to reach 100 for his career.