The Philadelphia Flyers (1-0) will look to extend their series lead on Monday when they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins (0-1) at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.
Philadelphia earned the 3-2 win to open the series, stealing the first game and shifting the early momentum of the series in its favor. They did so by outbattling, out-hitting, and just overall gutting out a win against a “been there before” Penguins lineup.
Going back to 2000, the Flyers are 7-2 in playoff series where they win the first game of the series. Being up 1-0 is where they want to be, but there is still a lot of work to be done. Especially given that the Flyers are 5-4 in Game 2s after Game 1 wins, dating back to 2000.
Will Pittsburgh bounce back in Game 2? Or, will Philly grow its lead?
Puck drop is at 7:00 p.m. EST at PPG Paints Arena. Here is how the Flyers are expected to line up
Read More: Flyers Steal Game 1 After Battle With Penguins on Saturday
Tyson Foerster—Trevor Zegras—Owen TippettTravis Konecny—Christian Dvorak—Porter MartoneDenver Barkey—Noah Cates—Matvei MichkovLuke Glendening—Sean Couturier—Garnet Hathaway
Travis Sanheim—Rasmus RistolainenCam York—Jamie DrysdaleNick Seeler—Emil Andrae
Special TeamsPP1: Drysdale, Cates, Zegras, Foerster, MartonePP2: Ristolainen, Dvorak, Tippett, Konecny, Michkov
PK1: Cates, Couturier, York, SanheimPK 2: Dvorak, Tippett, Seeler, Ristolainen
Read More: Flyers Postgame Blog: High Physicality, Missed Opportunities, & The Mental Game
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The Flyers’ lineup played a great game on Saturday, and answered plenty of questions about how this young, inexperienced team would respond to the pressure of playoff hockey.
Keeping the lineup the same includes Dan Vladar getting the start in Game 2. It won’t be confirmed until about 5:00 p.m. EST today when Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet addresses the media. But Vladar was first off the ice by a wide margin at Sunday’s practice, which is typically a telltale sign that he is starting.
The physicality was intense for Game 1. Both teams were already pretty familiar with one another, making it a pretty intense game from the jump. That’s not going anywhere for Game 2. Can the young legs of the Flyers continue to push through and persevere? Or will the Penguins’ battle-tested lineup break through?
A team like the Penguins won’t just sit back after losing Game 1 of the series. They’re likely to come out of the gate on Monday with an added intensity and a chip on their shoulder. The Flyers can’t make mistakes if they want to bring the series back to Philly with the 2-0 lead. Here are 3 things the Flyers must clean up for Game 2.
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPNRadio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Read More: Rivalry Renewed: Tone Set for Flyers-Penguins Series with a Physical Game 1
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