By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
It's a new beginning for the Philadelphia Flyers. It's a team trying to focus on putting a disappointing and frustrating season in the rearview mirror. It's a team that brings a number of new faces to the lineup. And it's all about to begin in this 2021-22 season.
The Flyers open things up on Friday night at Wells Fargo Center going against the Vancouver Canucks. After last season, it's already refreshing for the Flyers to be facing a team from the Western Conference that they haven't seen in quite some time. It also marks the first chance for this new group of players to make their mark on the team and start the season off on a positive note.
Game time is at 7 p.m.
Team Leaders (2020-21 Season Stats for Flyers – Returning Players Only)
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Vancouver Canucks | GP | G | A | P |
| James van Riemsdyk | 56 | 17 | 26 | 43 | Nils Hoglander | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Claude Giroux | 54 | 16 | 27 | 43 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sean Couturier | 45 | 18 | 23 | 41 | Quinn Hughes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Joel Farabee | 55 | 20 | 18 | 38 | Conor Garland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Travis Konecny | 50 | 11 | 23 | 34 | J.T. Miller | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
It's all about redemption for Carter Hart, and that all starts on Friday night. Hart's 2020-21 season was obviously one to forget, but his overall body of work in his career has been solid. He was given a vote of confidence with his contract in the offseason and he has a clean slate to start the season.
Thatcher Demko's 2021-22 season got off to good start, making 32 saves on 34 shots despite taking the loss in a shootout on Wednesday. Demko had a career-high save percentage last season at .915.
Projected Lineups
Flyers Scratches: Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Patrick Brown (COVID protocol), Jackson Cates (healthy)
Lineup Notes
- Flyers: The Flyers are without Rasmus Ristolainen for the season opener, though he did take the morning skate and appears to be close to returning. Nick Seeler will play on the third pairing. Max Willman makes his NHL debut as waiver claims Patrick Brown and Zack MacEwen are both unavailable.
- Canucks: The Canucks will use the same lineup as they did for their season opener on Wednesday in Edmonton. They remain without Brock Boeser, who is on the road trip, but was not able to play in the opener.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (N/A), Canucks (16th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (N/A), Canucks (22nd)
- Recent History vs. Canucks
- Oct. 12, 2019 – Canucks 3, Flyers 2 (F/SO) (at VAN)
- Nov. 25, 2019 – Flyers 2, Canucks 1 (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Canucks
- Claude Giroux – 18 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 P
- Cam Atkinson – 16 GP, 5 G, 5 A, 10 P
- Carter Hart – 3 GP, 2-0-1, 1.30 GAA, .952 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Carter Hart needs one win to reach 50 for his career.
- Keith Yandle needs two assists to reach 500 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR/97.3 ESPN
