The Flyers end their preseason in Washington, D.C. on Thursday night, and aside from an absent, slightly-injured Wayne Simmonds, they’ll ice their full opening night roster this evening.
Cuts are expected tomorrow, but expect this game to essentially be a dress rehearsal for Craig Berube’s club. And yes, that means that it appears as though Jason Akeson and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare are your fourth liners alongside Zac Rinaldo. You’d think Blair Jones would then be the 13th forward by that logic, since otherwise Berube would have him playing with regular linemates tonight. But it’s still preseason. No guarantees that anything is worked out just yet.
Here’s what the lineup looks like according to reports from Voorhees this morning:
B. Schenn – Giroux – Voracek
Read – Couturier – Jones
Raffl – Lecavalier – Umberger
Rinaldo – Bellemare – Akeson
MacDonald – Coburn
Grossmann – Streit
Del Zotto – L. Schenn
Mason
Emery
Samuel Morin is still on the roster, but he’s not in the lineup. We’d imagine that means he’s sticking around for the opener — or at least the pre-opener team trip to Cape Cod — but we’ll know for sure tomorrow when final cuts are made.
The Capitals are coming off an ugly 6-1 loss last night against Buffalo, after which coach Barry Trotz said that some players “played themselves right out of a chance to stick with us.” Ouch. Get more on the Caps perspective from our friends at Japers’ Rink.
Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals
7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
In Philly: CSN Philly
In DC: CSN Washington
Nationwide: NHL Network
Everywhere else: Sorry. 🙁
