Flyers visit Utah Hockey Club for first time

1 day ago  /  Broad Street Hockey  /  Read Time: 3 minutes 18 seconds

The Game: 9:00 p.m. EST, NBCSP, ESPN+, 97.5 The Fanatic



The Philadelphia Flyers are taking the trip down to Utah and facing a downtrodden team who most likely will be seeking to get some gutsy points.



While the hockey world felt incredibly enamored with the whole idea and everything going on with that Utah Hockey Club, the magic has worn off. Maybe it has something to do with them performing better than expected, considering they are the Arizona Coyotes with a shiny new coat of paint on them, or just seeing these players play in an actual NHL-sized rink. But, the interest has worn off and the Utahns has slowly sunk into being what they were destined to be: Not a playoff team.



The Hockey Club have found themselves in a similar spot to the Flyers. They have a 21-22-9 record and sit just one point behind the Flyers in the overall standings, but with two games in-hand. And to make their current situation worse, they have lost their last five games and have earned just two points with a couple of overtime losses thrown in there. And even before that, they lost three games in a row which was followed by three wins in a row. This team might just be incredibly streaky.



The Flyers are on a losing streak of their own, dropping the last three games and have infamously not scored in any of those games. That’s fun. It might just be a battle between two sinking teams tonight. At least Utah have been able to score eight goals during their five-game streak (that is still abysmal). Maybe we will see a 0-1 shootout loss go to someone.



Storylines to watch



Are the new guys playing?



There is not a whole lot to look forward to when it comes to the final 30 or so games of this Flyers season, but getting some new guys and seeing Actual NHL Talent hit the ice wearing the Orange and Black for the first time is one of them. The only thing is that as of Tuesday morning, we are still unsure whether or not newcomers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier will be able to play in Salt Lake City.



There is an ongoing visa issue as they make their way being employed by a Canadian team to an American one. If they are not able to be in the lineup, we really don’t know what the Flyers are going to do. With Rasmus Ristolainen out day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered against the Avalanche on Sunday, the Flyers can’t even go with the 11 forwards, seven defensemen lineup that they did in Colorado. Someone would have to be recalled and with the game happening just hours from now and needing a cross-country flight for it to happen, one would hope they would be a little bit more prepared for this.



So, either it is the new guys play or suddenly the Flyers are playing with just 19 skaters in this one.



UPDATE:No, they are not.



Ersson gets the start in goal, per Torts. Ristolainen and Tippett out with injury. Nicolas Deslauriers comes back in.— Charlie O'Connor (@charlieo_conn) February 4, 2025



Please, just score a goal



As we all know by now, the Flyers have been held without a goal for the past three games and stretching back to the previous game against the Devils, it has been over 217 minutes without a goal. We are living a miserable hell. Can they possibly get one tonight?



Well, it’s barring a lot of things. They might have to continue playing their half-AHL lineup in Salt Lake City, and against a team that is fairly deep and with decent goaltending. If it is Connor Ingram in between the pipes, they have a better chance at putting one past the goal line than if it was Karel Vejmelka. Ingram is currently rocking an .884 save percentage in 19 appearances and Utah is averaging 3.24 goals against with him in the crease. For the other side, Vejmelka is having a tremendous season — a .911 save percentage and 2.48 goals against average through 31 games has cemented him as the starter over in Utah.



We’re not feeling good about this one.



The battle down the middle



While we know the Flyers are weak at center, this game could be even more mismatched than normal. The Utah Hockey Club has some sizeable centermen like Barrett Hayton and Jack McBain down the middle, and then a tenacious guy like Alex Kerfoot as well. And this is even without Logan Cooley available. If we’re going for a position vs. position battle, Utah has a drastic size, physicality, and general skill advantage at center.



Projected lineups



Philadelphia Flyers



Tyson Foerster — Noah Cates — Travis KonecnyAnthony Richard — Sean Couturier — Matvei MichkovScott Laughton — Rodrigo Abols — Bobby BrinkNic Deslauriers — Jacob Gaucher — Garnet Hathaway



Cam York — Travis SanheimEmil Andrae — Erik JohnsonNick Seeler — Jamie Drysdale



Utah Hockey Club



Clayton Keller — Alex Kerfoot — Nick SchmaltzMatias Maccelli — Barrett Hayton — Josh DoanLawson Crouse — Jack McBain — Michael CarconeLiam O’Brien — Kevin Stenlund — Nick Bjugstad



Mikhail Sergachev — John MarinoIan Cole — Michael KesselringOlli Maatta — Nick DeSimone



Connor Ingram(Karel Vejmelka)







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