Jake Voracek
The Flyers will take on the Washington Capitals three times this week, starting with a Sunday night meeting to close out a stretch of six games in nine nights.
The Flyers and Penguins meet for the third and final time this week, trying to decide the winner of the three-game series.
The second game is set for Thursday night, and the Penguins will remain without their captain due to COVID protocols. Meanwhile, the Flyers get another chance to respond to adversity and to play with a full lineup after their own COVID situation.
After a weekend sweep in Buffalo, the Flyers were gearing up to face one of the best in the world and get a test from a team right there in the playoff race. But on Tuesday morning, Sidney Crosby was ruled out for Tuesday upon his placement on the NHL’s COVID list. Now, the Flyers will face the rest of the Penguins without their captain, as this three-game series begins on Tuesday night.
The Flyers look to keep the success going against the Sabres, who are dealing with some struggles and injuries that have hindered their play in the last few weeks.
Finally, the Flyers are at a spot where there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Four more players returned to the lineup on Saturday afternoon and with those players back, plus another excellent goaltending performance, the nearly full-strength Flyers showed what may have been missing from their recent games.
Brian Elliott was on point, making 23 saves to secure his second shutout of the season, both coming against the Sabres, once again in a 3-0 victory on Saturday afternoon.
The Flyers are on the road for the next five games, starting with a weekend back-to-back against the Buffalo Sabres. The first game is Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The Flyers are also getting some reinforcements back in the lineup. Claude Giroux returned to practice on Tuesday and was the first of the players on the COVID list to return. More will follow in the coming days. For now, Giroux and the rest of the team continue their season, facing the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
Captain Claude Giroux was back on the ice for the first time since going on the COVID list on Feb. 9, leading to the postponement of that night’s game against the Washington Capitals. Plus, five more Flyers games have new dates in the latest round of league reschedulings.
