Flyers @ Leafs - Mar. 9th, 7:30pm - SNO, Fan 590

[CarltonTheBear]

@
  31-26-8, 70 points | 29-22-14, 72 points
Projected Lines

Weal-Giroux-Simmonds Schenn-Filppula-Voracek Cousins-Couturier-Read VandeVelde-Bellemare-Konecny Provorov-MacDonald Manning-Gostisbehere Del Zotto-Gudas Manson

Hyman-Matthews-Brown Komarov-Kadri-Nylander JVR-Bozak-Marner Martin-Boyle-Soshnikov Rielly-Zaitsev Gardiner-Marchenko Hunwick-Polak Andersen

Scratches

Dale Weise Roman Lyubimov Nick Schultz

Martin Marincin Ben Smith Josh Leivo Eric Fehr

Game Notes

PHI
•Steve Manson (19-17-7, 2.76 GAA, .906 Sv%) will likely start for the Flyers
•Philly currently sits 3 points behind the Islanders for the final wild card spot in the East, but would also have to leap over the Leafs in the standings to get there

TOR
•Andersen (25-14-13, 2.72 GAA, .916 Sv%) will likely start for the Leafs
•With the Bruins and the Islanders both winning their last games, the Leafs still remain behind them for the 3rd spot in the Atlantic and final wild card spotInjuries

•Michael Raffl - Lower Body - Injured Reserve

•Nathan Horton - Back - Out indefinitely •Joffrey Lupul - ¯\_(?)_/¯ - Out indefinitely •Stephane Robidas - Old - Out indefinitely •Connor Carrick - Upper Body - Injured Reserve

Stream Options

https://www.reddit.com/r/NHLstreams

[Frank E]

Real big game. 

[Kaberle15]

I do hate the Flyers, so Just win Leafs, Just win. in Regulation.

Go Leafs Go!!!

[wnc096]

•Steve Manson (19-17-7, 2.76 GAA, .906 Sv%) will likely start for the Flyers

Hopefully this Manson character doesn't have a good game

[CarltonTheBear]

No Bozak at practice this morning:

JVR-Kadri-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Komarov-Boyle-Brown
Martin-Fehr-Soshnikov

We'll wait for an update, but given that the lines changed like this I think it would mean he's likely out for tonight. It's more of a traditional top-6/bottom-6. I certainly dig the top-6 part. The 3rd line at least has good players/checkers on it. The 4th line better not play more than 7 minutes.

[Coco-puffs]

Ugh.... here is me dreaming of lines with Bozak out...

Hyman - Matthews - Leivo
JvR - Nylander - Marner
Komarov - Kadri - Brown
Martin - Boyle - Sosh

I only left Hyman on Matthews wing because we know Babs isn't going to separate them.  Then again, it looks like Babs won't put Nylander in the middle at all this year, so I am just pipe dreaming.  Leivo really does deserve some ice though.

[CarltonTheBear]

Then again, it looks like Babs won't put Nylander in the middle at all this year, so I am just pipe dreaming.  Leivo really does deserve some ice though.

Yeah, I really don't get why Babs isn't putting Nylander in the middle with Bozak hurt. The fact that it gets a incredibly deserving Leivo back into the line-up would be a big bonus if he went with that.

[Zee]

Win.

[Coco-puffs]

Then again, it looks like Babs won't put Nylander in the middle at all this year, so I am just pipe dreaming.  Leivo really does deserve some ice though.

Yeah, I really don't get why Babs isn't putting Nylander in the middle with Bozak hurt. The fact that it gets a incredibly deserving Leivo back into the line-up would be a big bonus if he went with that.

I think Babs is very happy with Nylander's improvements away from the puck, enough so that he'd probably be comfortable with him in the middle- until he has to take a faceoff.  Nylander gets eaten alive in the dot and Babcock loves his faceoff stats. 

[herman]

No Bozak at practice this morning:

JVR-Kadri-Marner
Hyman-Matthews-Nylander
Komarov-Boyle-Brown
Martin-Fehr-Soshnikov

We'll wait for an update, but given that the lines changed like this I think it would mean he's likely out for tonight. It's more of a traditional top-6/bottom-6. I certainly dig the top-6 part. The 3rd line at least has good players/checkers on it. The 4th line better not play more than 7 minutes.

Babcock's presser mentioned Bozak is just a game time decision, and the shuffle here is only in case Bozak can't play. With only the centres being shuffled, it explains why Nylander isn't getting a look down the middle.

Kadri alone makes his line go from Top-9 to Bottom-6.

[herman]

Post-skate, Mike Babcock expressed a hearty vote of confidence in Morgan Rielly (who is also celebrating his 23rd birthday today) pic.twitter.com/aNKiR8ajik

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) March 9, 2017

www.twitter.com/kristen_shilton/status/839879335041454080

Unprompted allusion to Phaneuf (in the good way?).

That was Babcock answering Shilton's question:

Rielly's obviously a great skater. How much do you think that injury has continued to impact him since he came back?

Does Babcock read David Johnson's stuff?

[CarltonTheBear]

That was Babcock answering Shilton's question:

Rielly's obviously a great skater. How much do you think that injury has continued to impact him since he came back?

Technically, he didn't actually answer/address the question.

[louisstamos]

Technically, he didn't actually answer/address the question.

He went full Kellyanne Conway!

[herman]

That was Babcock answering Shilton's question:

Rielly's obviously a great skater. How much do you think that injury has continued to impact him since he came back?

Technically, he didn't actually answer/address the question.

I forgot the " " around answering.

[herman]

Also, it looks like we'll see newly extended former George McPhee player Expansion Draft bait, Michal Neuvirth, tending the net.