TV: TSN 5. Radio: TSN 1200 AM
TIME: 7 p.m., Thursday
Odds: Senators +116, Flyers -143
BULLIES NO MORE
Remember when the Philadelphia Flyers were the Broad Street Bullies, feared around the league in the 1970s because they had several players who could knock the snot out of anyone? If Dave “The Hammer” Schultz wasn’t tossing haymakers, it was the likes of Don “Big Bird” Saleski or ‘Battleship’ Bob Kelly. The NHL has changed a lot since then, for the most part teams don’t employ “goons” in their starting lineup. This year’s version of the Flyers is particularly docile.
TIMMY’S TIME
After a breakout season in 2022-23 when he had 90 points (39 goals, 51 assists), Tim Stutzle took a step back offensively a year ago (18 goals, 52 assists). It looks like Stutzle has hit his stride again. In 15 games, he has seven goals and 13 assists. He took criticism for an “off season” last year, but he also started refining his play away from the puck, something that has carried over into this season. With 267 points already in his young NHL career, Stutzle has the most points of any German player after 300 games (Leon Draisaitl had 244).
“I worked really hard in the summer,” Stutzle said. “I wasn’t happy with the way I played last season and the way the season finished.”
Following Tuesday’s 3-0 victory over Toronto, Stutzle told TSN 1200’s Gord Wilson: “We gave (the Leafs) no room, that’s the way we have to play if we want to win more games.”
SITTING A ‘STAR’
Flyers coach John Tortorella benched Matvei Michkov, the seventh-overall selection in the 2023 NHL draft, for two games, putting him back in the lineup Monday. The 19-year-old offensively skilled rookie, who had nine points in his first nine NHL games, responded with a goal and an assist. With his playing time dwindling, Michkov had just one point in five games before Torts took him out of the lineup. Those in the know say the kid is a potential superstar.
THE NUMBERS GAME
Coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday, the Flyers have 44 goals for and 58 against — that’s a mediocre minus-14 for those who care about such things. But things may be turning around. Impressively, Flyers goalie Samuel Ersson is 4-0-1 in his past six starts with a 2.27 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. The Senators outshot the Leafs 41-27 on Tuesday and now have a goals-for-against differential of plus-7 (scoring 51 while allowing 44).
THE QUOTE
“There’s a lot that goes into playing good hockey. We’re starting to play the way we want. We’ve had some good games we really liked. We’ve had three or four we didn’t like as much.”
- Senators coach Travis Green
THE LINEUPS
OTTAWA
Forwards
Tkachuk/Norris/Greig
Giroux/Stutzle/Batherson
Gregor/Pinto/Amadio
Cousins/Gaudette/MacEwen
Defence
Sanderson/Zub
Chabot/Jensen
Kleven/Hamonic
Goalies
Ullmark/Forsberg
PHILADELPHIA
Forwards
Tippett/Couturier/Konecny
Farabee/Laughton/Brink
Richard/Poehling/Michkov
Foerster/Cates/Hathaway
Defence
Andrae/Sanheim
Seeler/Ristolainen
Zamula/Johnson
Goalies
Ersson/Fedotov
INJURIES
OTTAWA: W David Perron (personal) day to day
PHILADELPHIA: D Jamie Drysdale (upper body on injured reserve), D Cam York (upper body) indefinitely, G Alexsei Kolosov (lower-body)
