Chicago Blackhawks at Philadelphia Flyers NHL Nov 23, 2024: Preview, How to Watch, Lineups

In the midst of a quieter stretch of their schedule, the Blackhawks are back on the road for a Saturday matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Philly is in a similar rebuilding status to Chicago and has had a rollercoaster of a season to boot. After a 1-5-1 start, the Flyers have won three of four, lost two in a row, won four of five and are now on a two-game losing streak after losing to the Colorado Avalanche and Carolina Hurricanes earlier this week. That Carolina game was on Wednesday, so it’s a well-rested Philadelphia team for this game.

The main attraction here is 19-year-old Matvei Michkov, the Russian forward who was selected No. 7 overall in the 2023 NHL Draft and came over to North America at the start of this season, allaying fears that it would take longer. before he arrived – if he did at all. He’s off to an impressive start with 15 points (6 G, 9 A) in 18 games despite bouncing around the lineup and even seeing time as a healthy scratch thanks to coach John Tortorella’s tough love efforts. He’s not the only weapon here, though: Travis Konecny ​​leads the team with 23 points (11 G, 12 A) in 20 games, Travis Sanheim has 12 (5 G, 7 A) from the blue line and Owen Tippet is fourth plays in double figures with 10 (4 G, 6 A) in 20. It’s not the most robust offense, but it’s 21st in the league with 2.70 goals per game. match. There is enough depth here to make the Blackhawks hurt if they let it.

But the Flyers are one of the worst possession teams in the league with the worst 5-on-5 shot attempt percentage in the league (43.96 percent) and the 29th-ranked 5-on-5 expected goal percentage in the league (44.26). percentage). Combine that with a subpar blue line and a trio of goaltenders who won’t inspire much confidence, and it all adds up to the second-highest goals-against rate in the league at 3.50 per game. match. There should be goals available for the Blackhawks in this game, even for a team as offensively challenged as they have been this season.

No morning skate of course, but here’s what Philly’s lineup was at practice last Friday:

Lines and pairings today: Tippett – Couturier – Richard Farabee – Frost – Brink Foerster – Cates – Michkov Fourth line is a rotation of Poehling, Hathaway, Deslauriers and Laughton. They all rotate in and out. No TK. He was knocked out early Wednesday but stayed in the game.

– Charlie O’Connor (@charlieoconn.bsky.social) 22 November 2024 at 11:12

As for the Hawks, Thursday’s win offered a respite from the doom and gloom that hovered around the team that had lost five of six before knocking off the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Jason Dickinson is still expected to play after not practicing Friday following his brief absence during Thursday’s game against the Panthers. Since Chicago won the last game, the expectation here is that the lineup against the Flyers will be the same from a few nights ago:

Blackhawks lines in warmups vs. Panthers are as expected: Bedard-Dickinson-Anderson Hall-Donato-Teravainen Mikheyev-Foligno-Bertuzzi Maroon-Reichel-Smith Vlasic-Murphy Allan-Martinez Kaiser-Brodie Mrazek

— Ben Pope (@benpopecst.bsky.social) 21 November 2024 at 19:06

Mrazek was confirmed as the starter at Friday’s practice.

The lineup problem from Thursday’s game remains present in this one, as the most potent (only?) offensive weapon the Blackhawks have is being used on Chicago’s line of scrimmage. Dickinson’s line with Bedard and Joey Anderson was buried by Sasha Barkov’s line a few nights ago. Philadelphia doesn’t have anyone close to Barkov’s quality, so there could be more looks in net for Bedard available, but it still feels like a woeful misuse of Bedard’s talents to have him try to slow down the best the league has to offer instead to find the ideal matchups for him to light up scoreboards every game.

But the next mix of lineups could at least be just a few opposing goals away?

Let’s go Hawks.

Story of the tape

Blackhawks — Statistics — Flyers
44.52% (29th) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 43.96% (32nd)
44.88% (28th) — 5-on-5 Expected Goals for — 44.26% (29th)
2.35 (30.) — Goal per match — 2.70 (21.)
3.00 (h-13.) — Goal against per match — 3.50 (31.)
45.6% (29th) — Faceoffs — 51.1% (13th)
21.2% (13th) — Power play — 16.9% (21st)
79.3% (16th) — Penalty Kills — 86.6% (4th)
(All stats from this season)

That’s how you see

When: CT noon
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia
TV: NHL Network, CHSN (That’s how you see) Good luck finding it!
Webstream: N/A (h/t to SCH user DSkiNY who pointed out that this game airs nationally on NHL Network, meaning no ESPN+ option. Will the game be blacked out locally on NHL Network? No idea!)
Radio: WGN 720