THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
There is no denying that Friday night’s win in Buffalo was a huge two points for the Flyers.
Unfortunately, the Flyers (8-4-1) won’t have much time to savor the 5-2 win against a hot Sabres team, one that catapulted the Flyers to their second three-game winning streak of the season. The St. Louis Blues were waiting in Philly on Friday night for the Flyers to return.
Saturday night is the Flyers’ first and only matchup with the inconsistent but dangerous Blues (5-6-2), who last played on Thursday night in a 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary. Here are a few things to watch for on Saturday night (7:00 p.m., Comcast SportsNet):
-Will the Flyers’ fourth line continue to get the minutes they need to be successful? On Friday night, the Dan Carcillo – Blair Betts – Ian Laperriere line was a huge force against the Sabres, playing a role in 3 of the Flyers’ 5 goals.
-Will the Flyers continue to get to the net? A big part of this three-game winning streak has been the Flyers’ willingness to do the dirty work and make it a frustrating night for the opposing goalie. They have been winning puck battles in the corners and getting sticks on shots from the point, often resulting in goals. Friday was the fourth game in a row that the Flyers received some sort of scoring help from their defense.
-How will a flu ravaged team react on back-to-back nights? This is the Flyers’ third test of the season with back-to-back games. They are 1-1 on the back end, but Saturday night may pose a different problem than the previous games with the Flyers’ already depleted energy levels.
-Which St. Louis team will show up? Like the Flyers, the Blues have been pretty inconsistent in the early going. They swept Detroit in a two game set in Stockholm, Sweden but have won just 3 times since then – and they haven’t beaten good teams (Minnesota, Carolina). Besides Detroit, only one of the Blues’ wins (5-0 over Anaheim) is legit.
Still, St. Louis is a young and exciting team – led by old-timers Paul Kariya and Keith Tkachuk – and Saturday’s game should be fun to watch.
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