5 things: Flyers @ Blues

On their annual trip to Missouri, John Tortorella’s Philadelphia Flyers (11/10/3) will face Jim Montgomery’s St. Louis Blues (12/1/11) on Saturday evening. Game time at the Enterprise Center is 7:00 EST.

The game will be televised on NBCSP. Radio coverage is on 93.3 WMMR with a 24-hour online simulcast on Flyers Radio.

This is the second and final meeting between the two teams this season. The Flyers earned a 2-1 victory on home ice on Halloween. Bobby Brink scored the game-winning goal 3:01 before the end of regulation time. Garnet Hathaway equalized in the first period before Nathan Walker temporarily equalized in the third period. Samuel Ersson stopped 20 of 21 shots while Jordan Binnington made 19 saves on 21 shots.

On November 24, with the Blues off to a 9-12-1 start, the Blues relieved head coach Drew Bannister of his duties and replaced him with former Boston Bruins reserve coach Montgomery. In Montgomery’s first two games as coach, the Blues defeated the New York Rangers (5-2) and the New Jersey Devils (3-0). Meanwhile, the Flyers posted a 7-4-2 record in November after posting a 4-6-1 record in October.

Here are five things to keep in mind for Saturday’s game.

1. Beat the fatigue factor

The Flyers are playing their fourth game in six nights, while the Blues have been idle on three of the last four nights, including Friday. Philly has this week between its two home games (the 5-4 shootout loss to Vegas on Monday, the 3-1 win over the Rangers on Friday afternoon) and its two away games (the 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday , today’s game) also repeatedly changed the time zone in St. Louis).

When a team is battling a fatigue factor disadvantage, it is important for players to manage their energy as efficiently as possible: keep shifts short when possible, minimize missed shots and turnovers, maintain puck support in all three zones, and Hopefully avoid this while watching the game. One hopeful sign from Friday’s game: The Flyers were able to spread ice time throughout the lineup, with 58 of the game’s 60 minutes played at 5-on-5. No one played less than 12:07, and none of the forwards were asked to play 20 minutes or more.

2. TK could set new historical markers

Flyers All-Star winger Travis Konecny ​​scored two goals for the team in Friday’s 3-1 win over the Rangers. He has scored at least one point in 11 of his last 12 games. Before the last game in November, Konecny ​​​​scored 19 points for the month. Since the 2001-02 season, no Flyers player has surpassed the 21-point mark in a calendar month.

Nineteen points in a month have been scored by Flyers players five times since 2001-02, according to the NHL. Deuces Wild linemates Peter Forsberg and Simon Gagne both had 20 points in November 2005 after Forsberg scored 19 the previous month. Three players scored 21 points in those months: Jeff Carter in December 2008, Jakub Voracek in February 2013 and most recently Claude Giroux in March 2014.

3. Brink played his best game of the season

Owen Tippett and Brink each rank fifth on the team with 11 points (four goals and seven assists). Brink was praised by Tortorella after Friday’s game for arguably his best all-around game of the 2024-25 season so far. He had four shots on goal in the first half and, in addition to scoring his team’s first goal, was involved in several of the Flyers’ scoring opportunities.

In his last six games, Brink had a total of four shots on goal and two points (0g, 2a). The game against the Rangers was hopefully a springboard to continue Friday’s performance with a similar offensive impact in the final game in November.

In contrast, Tippett had a somewhat frustrating afternoon on Friday. He let a few pucks come his way on promising plays. He uncharacteristically fell several times and clocked a team-low 12:07 in 16 shifts. However, Tippett seemed to have a lot of bounce and was able to exploit that aspect against the Blues.

4. Kolosov vs. Binnington

With the Flyers playing the final game of a back-to-back set, rookie goaltender Aleksei Kolosov is the expected starter for Saturday’s game. He posted a 25-save performance in Wednesday’s win in Nashville. In total, Kolosov has made five starting eleven appearances and one substitute appearance this season. He has a record of 2-4-0, a 3.11 goals against average and a save percentage of .885.

Binnington posted a 32-save shutout against the Devils in his last game. In total, the 31-year-old goalkeeper has made 17 starting eleven appearances and one substitute appearance this season. Binnington has compiled a record of 7-9-1, a 2.86 goals against average and a save percentage of .898. Backup goaltender Joel Hofer has started seven games and has a 4-3-0 record, 3.23 goals against average and a .899 save percentage.

5. Special teams outlook

The Flyers accomplished little on their only power play in Friday’s game against the Rangers. Their only shot on net was an unshielded point shot from Emil Andrae. The Flyers’ power play has fallen to 16.4 percent this season (25th in the NHL) and to 11.8 percent (4 of 34) in November. Philly had no shorthanded situations on Friday and will enter Saturday with a rate of 82.8 percent (12th) on the season.

The Blues’ power play (14.3 percent in November, 14.8 percent overall) ranks 30th in the league. At 78.1 percent, they rank 20th in PK (82.4 percent success in November).