After dropping Monday’s game 5-2 to Philadelphia, the Arizona Coyotes will have a second chance at the Flyers on Thursday when the clubs finish off a home-and-home. Prior to Monday’s loss, Arizona was on a tear, winning six of seven games. But after being beat handily in front of their home fans, Arizona will be eager to return the favour in Philadelphia.
The Flyers enter Thursday’s game at an even .500 with a 7-7-1 record. While securing just half of the available points isn’t an ideal way to open a season, Philadelphia’s stars have shown up in a big way. Yet again, Claude Giroux (6 goals, 11 assists) and Jakub Voracek (4 goals, 11 assists) lead the team offensively in the early going, with both players producing at a point-per-game pace or better. But team defense has been the Flyers’ shortcoming so far in 2018-19; they’ve surrendered 3.73 goals per game and none of their starters has a save percentage above .900.
Arizona will be keen to capitalize on Philadelphia’s porous defense and get their own offense going. Led by Clayton Keller (5 goals, 5 assists), the Coyotes haven’t been an offensive superpower so far this season, but the return of Alex Galchenyuk, who has registered five points in six games, should help bolster the offense.
