The Calgary Flames, holding a 2-9-2 record, face the Philadelphia Flyers, at 6-4-1, on Sunday night in Philadelphia. Both teams are coming off losses on Saturday, with the Flames dropping a 4-2 decision to the Nashville Predators and the Flyers falling 5-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. ET at the Flyers' home arena.
Calgary wraps up a four-game road trip against Philadelphia, seeking to snap a skid after nearly mounting a comeback from a 3-0 deficit in Nashville. Jonathan Huberdeau and Joel Farabee scored in the third period for the Flames, but Dustin Wolf was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots in the first period. Devin Cooley relieved and stopped all 12 shots he faced. "Most of the game we were the better team over there, so we had a lot of chances; again, we can't be down 3-0 right away," Huberdeau said. Head coach Ryan Huska noted, "At times during games, we get in our own way."
The Flames' projected lineup features Huberdeau with Nazem Kadri and Connor Zary on the top line, alongside Farabee, Morgan Frost and Matt Coronato. Defense pairs include Kevin Bahl with Rasmus Andersson. Wolf is set to start for the second straight game, with Zary and Zayne Parekh returning after recent scratches. Martin Pospisil is injured (undisclosed), and Justin Kirkland and Brayden Pachal are scratched.
For Philadelphia, wrapping a five-game homestand, Christian Dvorak and Tyson Foerster scored in their loss to Toronto, where Dan Vladar was pulled after allowing four goals. Aleksei Kolosov is expected to make his first start, having stopped all seven shots in relief. Sean Couturier could return after missing one game with an upper-body injury, though his status remains uncertain. Injured for the Flyers are Rasmus Ristolainen (triceps), Samuel Ersson (lower body) and possibly Foerster (lower body, reports vary). Projected lines include Trevor Zegras centering Matvei Michkov, with Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny featuring prominently. Zegras leads Philly with 13 points in 11 games.
Special teams could be decisive: Flyers rank second on the penalty kill at 90 percent but 19th on the power play at 19.4 percent; Flames are last on the power play at 12.5 percent. This is the first of two meetings this season; Calgary swept last year's series 6-3 each time.
