Flyers-Golden Knights: Game 7 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers return home turned unpleasant as they suffered a fourth straight loss, falling to the 1-7-1 Dallas Stars on Saturday.

Monday's game provides another chance to right the ship, and there will be two new faces in the lineup trying to provide a spark. 19-year-old Joel Farabee makes his NHL debut and Mikhail Vorobyev joins the lineup as well.

It is sure to be a tough test for the Flyers, as they face the Vegas Golden Knights, off to a 6-3-0 start and coming off a shutout win in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Vegas Golden Knights GP G A P
Travis Konecny 6 3 5 8 Mark Stone 9 6 6 12
Oskar Lindblom 6 3 1 4 Max Pacioretty 9 2 8 10
Ivan Provorov 6 1 3 4 William Karlsson 9 1 7 8
Sean Couturier 6 2 2 4 Paul Stastny 9 4 3 7
Claude Giroux  6 0 4 4 Reilly Smith 9 6 1 7
 
Player to Watch
49 Joel Farabee 61 Mark Stone
Last 5 Games: N/A Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, -1
 
All eyes will be on Joel Farabee in his NHL debut on Monday. Farabee impressed in the preseason, but was unable to score. Once he went down to the AHL to start the season, he opened his professional career with goals in his first three games and a four-game points streak. Now he gets his chance in the NHL and even more opportunities could open up if he is able to be a play-driver and produce.
 
Mark Stone opened the season with four multi-point games in the team's first five. He is also currently on a five-game points streak. In eight of the nine games for Vegas this season, Stone has factored into the scoring in some way. His addition to the lineup, starting the previous season, has made an already dangerous group even more lethal. 
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 35 Oscar Dansk
2 GP, 0-1-0, 2.96 GAA, .911 SV% 0 GP, 0-0-0, -.– GAA, .— SV%

Brian Elliott gets the start in goal for the Flyers, his first at home, after getting his first start of the season last week in Calgary and taking over in relief of Carter Hart in Edmonton. Hart has allowed seven goals on 29 shots over the last two games, so this could be a good chance for Elliott to provide some relief.

Oscar Dansk was the first goalie off the ice for Vegas at Monday's morning skate, so he will make his first start of the season. Dansk made three starts and appeared in four games for Vegas in the 2017-18 season, posting a 3-0-0 record, a 1.78 GAA and .946 save percentage.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Sam Morin, Tyler Pitlick

Left Wing Center Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk 28 Claude Giroux 93 Jake Voracek
23 Oskar Lindblom 14 Sean Couturier 11 Travis Konecny
21 Scott Laughton 13 Kevin Hayes 49 Joel Farabee
12 Michael Raffl 24 Mikhail Vorobyev 44 Chris Stewart
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 15 Matt Niskanen  
6 Travis Sanheim 61 Justin Braun  
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 8 Robert Hagg  
Goalie    
37 Brian Elliott 79 Carter Hart  

Lineup Notes

Joel Farabee and Mikhail Vorobyev enter the lineup. Tyler Pitlick was the extra forward with Chris Stewart and Michael Raffl remaining on the fourth line. The rest of the lines were heavily shuffled, with Claude Giroux moving back to center between James van Riemsdyk and Jake Voracek, Oskar Lindblom back on a line with Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny and Kevin Hayes centering Farabee and Scott Laughton.

Golden Knights Projected Lineup

Injuries: Alex Tuch, Nate Schmidt, Malcolm Subban

Scratches: Valentin Zykov, Jimmy Schuldt

Left Wing Center Right Wing
81 Jonathan Marchessault 71 William Karlsson 19 Reilly Smith
67 Max Pacioretty 26 Paul Stastny 61 Mark Stone
 73 Brandon Pirri 21 Cody Eakin 9 Cody Glass
28 Will Carrier 92 Tomas Nosek  75 Ryan Reaves
Defense    
3 Brayden McNabb 27 Shea Theodore  
15 Jon Merrill 22 Nick Holden  
45 Jake Bischoff 5 Deryk Engelland  
Goalie    
35 Oscar Dansk 29 Marc-Andre Fleury  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (10th), Golden Knights (5th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th), Golden Knights (1st)
  • Recent History vs. Golden Knights
    • Oct. 4, 2018 – Flyers 5, Golden Knights 2 (at VGK)
    • Oct. 13, 2018 – Golden Knights 1, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Golden Knights
    • Sean Couturier – 4 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
    • Claude Giroux – 4 GP, 2 G, 2 A, 4 P
    • Kevin Hayes – 4 GP, 1 G, 3 A, 4 P
    • Brian Elliott – 2 GP, 1-1-0, 1.53 GAA, .935 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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