Meaningful hockey games are back in South Philadelphia as the Flyers (1-1-0) host the Sharks (1-2-0) on Tuesday night for their 2018-19 home opener.
Let's look at some highlights before puck drop:
• Tuesday marks Game 1 of life without James van Riemsdyk. The Flyers' big free-agent signing will miss approximately five to six weeks with a lower-body injury. That timetable would have van Riemsdyk out until at least Nov. 12, a stretch of 15 games (see story). "It's obviously not that great," Claude Giroux said Monday. "He's a guy that really takes care of his body, he's a really good professional. When he comes back, he's going to be in good shape."
• Jordan Weal will get the first crack at replacing van Riemsdyk in his third-line left winger spot. Weal, a natural center, fell short of expectations last season, his first full campaign in the NHL. Feeling more comfortable on the wing, this is his chance to show he can make a difference alongside Mikhail Vorobyev and Wayne Simmonds (see story). Still, replacing van Riemsdyk is no easy task (see story).
• Not only has the third line seen change, but also the first and second units. Head coach Dave Hakstol has switched Jakub Voracek and Travis Konecny, with Voracek bumping up to the first line and Konecny sliding down to the second (see story). The second unit is now made up of a 20-year-old (Nolan Patrick), 21-year-old (Konecny) and 22-year-old (Oskar Lindblom). Hakstol had a good take Monday on the Voracek-Konecny switch:
Jake is a puck possession guy that uses his speed, uses his pace, likes to be in open ice on his own with the puck. T.K., the way he uses his speed is a little bit different. He has that game-breaking ability where he can get to spots, where if Oskar and Patty are able to know where he's at and are able to find him, it can be an effective combination that way.
• Four of the more offensively dynamic defensemen in the NHL will be on the Wells Fargo Center ice tonight. We know the Flyers' top pair of Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere. Provorov last season was tied for first among NHL blueliners in goals with 17, while Gostisbehere finished fourth in points (65). With the big September trade, the Sharks are loaded on the blue line after acquiring Erik Karlsson. He and Brent Burns are first and second, respectively, in points by defensemen since 2013-14. Karlsson has 356, while Burns has 326. All four blueliners eat up minutes.
• The Sharks played Monday night in New York and lost to the Islanders, 4-0, so the Flyers could see backup goalie Aaron Dell, who has performed well against the orange and black. He is 2-0-1 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .962 save percentage in three games vs. the Flyers.
- When: Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Philadelphia — More coverage on NBCSN at 7 p.m. — Game time 7:30 p.m. on NBCSN
- Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
- Broadcast: NBC Sports Network (NBCSN)
- Streaming on NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports App
Projected lineup
Forwards
- Claude Giroux-Sean Couturier-Jakub Voracek
- Oskar Lindblom-Nolan Patrick-Travis Konecny
- Jordan Weal-Mikhail Vorobyev-Wayne Simmonds
- Scott Laughton-Jori Lehtera-Michael Raffl
Defensemen
- Ivan Provorov-Shayne Gostisbehere
- Robert Hagg-Andrew MacDonald
- Travis Sanheim-Radko Gudas
Goalies
- Brian Elliott
- Calvin Pickard
