Game 1 Preview: Flyers open season in Tampa against defending East champs

Here is it: game No. 1 of 82.

It is only the beginning for the Flyers, and for now, they start with the rest of the NHL’s 30 teams. They have a clean slate after a few forgettable seasons that saw them miss the playoffs twice and fall out in the first round in the other.

That’s why Dave Hakstol is here. His mission is to bring the Flyers back to playoff contention by putting his system into place.

The Flyers start that quest in Tampa Bay against the defending Eastern Conference champions, the Lightning. The opening face-off from is set for 7:30 p.m.

The preseason was a struggle, as the Flyers went 3-2-2 in the seven games they played. But prior to the first game of the 82-game schedule, everyone starts 0-0-0.

There are very few surprises to the Flyers lineup, almost none considering the roster remained predominantly the same as the previous season.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Hakstol has already shown no boundaries between player’s salary and playing time. Andrew MacDonald was put on waivers on Monday and cleared. Radko Gudas, Vincent Lecavalier and Sam Gagner are healthy scratches tonight.

Two players that were on the bubble, but made the final cut, are Scott Laughton and Brandon Manning. Given the scratches, both have found their way into the lineup as members of the Flyers Top 20.

Obviously, the attention shifts to the top line of Claude Giroux, Jake Voracek and Michael Raffl. And in goal, Steve Mason could not have been more ready to go that he was late last week, giving Flyers fans hope of a repeat season similar to the 2014-15 campaign for the netminder.

Tampa Bay did not make many changes either as the roster that stormed through to the Stanley Cup Final returns.

The Flyers should know some of these faces well. Two of the Lightning defensemen are Braydon Coburn and Matt Carle, both former Flyers.

Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman also make up a strong defensive core in front of Ben Bishop. Bishop was 40-13-5 with a 2.32 GAA and .916 save percentage in 2014-15. Hedman led the defensemen with 10 goals and had 38 points, one behind defensive leader Stralman.

Up front, Tampa is stacked with talent that was overlooked by so many in previous drafts. This is most notably seen in a line called the "Triplet Line." Tyler Johnson, who scored 29 goals and had 72 points last season, went undrafted. Ondrej Palat, who was a 208th overall pick, scored 16 goals and had 63 points. Nikita Kucherov, a 58th overall draft pick, scored 29 goals. 

They are joined by one of the team’s highest draft picks, Steven Stamkos. The 2008 first-overall pick is regularly flirting with the 50-goal mark every season. He scored 43 last season while picking up 72 points. 

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (3rd, 12th on road in 2014-15), Lightning (14th, 5th at home in 2014-15) 
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (27th, 29th on road in 2014-15), Lightning (9th, 2nd at home in 2014-15)
• The Flyers were 1-2-0 against the Tampa Bay Lightning last season. The Flyers suffered a 4-3 loss in Tampa on October 30 and a 3-1 loss at home on December 16. On January 12, they came away with a 7-3 victory in Philadelphia.
• The Flyers last won a season opener in 2011 with a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.
• All time, the Flyers are 43-34-8-3 against the Lightning. 
• Flyers leaders vs. Lightning
• Claude Giroux – 23 games, 3 goals, 20 assists, 23 points
• Jake Voracek – 16 games, 4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points
• Wayne Simmonds – 15 games, 6 goals, 3 assists, 9 points
• Steve Mason – 5 games, 1-3-1, 3.00 GAA, .863 Sv%
• Milestone Watch: Mark Streit needs four points to reach 100 as a Flyer.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Line 1: Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Brayden Schenn-Scott Laughton-R.J. Umberger
Line 4: Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Ryan White

D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Michael Del Zotto-Brandon Manning
D-Pair 3: Luke Schenn-Evgeny Medvedev
Goalie: Steve Mason

Scratches: Radko Gudas, Vincent Lecavalier, Sam Gagner

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.