Next Game
15th in East, 5th in Atlantic, 0-0-0, 0 pts
Tuesday, Sep 21, 2010, 7:00 PM EDT
Wells Fargo Center – Philadelphia, PA
Local TV: The Comcast Network
National TV: NHL Network US
Radio: 610 WIP (internet stream?)
Get the New Jersey perspective at In Lou We Trust
1st in East, 1st in Atlantic, 0-0-0, 0 pts
New-ish look for our game threads up top there this season. Feedback welcome.
Saying that hockey is back at the Wells Fargo Center would be sort of incorrect, since hockey’s never been played at the Wells Fargo Center before. Saying hockey’s back at the Wachovia Center is obviously wrong, too. We’ll just say that hockey’s back at that building in South Philadelphia tonight for the first time in three months.
Back in June, in the immediate aftermath of Game 6, we wrote…
The juxtaposition between where I sit in the upper level and the ice is staggering. Up here, there are crews beginning to clean up the building for the final time after a hockey game until September. Down there, it’s history, but it’s not the type of history that we hoped for, of course.
That sums up how important tonight is to us. Sure, it’s just a meaningless preseason game when all is said and done, but it’s the first time the Flyers take the home ice since that heartbreaking loss. It’s the start of a new season. Hockey’s back.
After the jump, we’ll try to piece together what the lineup might look like this evening.
So there’s been no confirmation on the roster tonight. Dave Isaac, a video intern at Philly.com, has these line combos posted on Twitter. They seem about right, but again, this isn’t confirmed.
Zherdev – Richards – Carter
JVR – Briere – Guerin
Powe – Giroux – Nodl
Shelley – Holmstrom – Laperriere
Timonen – Meszaros
O’Donnell – Bartulis
Coburn – Walker
Leighton
Bobrovsky
If those are indeed the lines, I’m excited. We get our first look at several offseason pick ups, included Andrej Meszaros and Nikolai Zherdev. Also, this is a big game for Ben Holmstrom, obviously, despite the fact that he’s on the fourth line with two grinders.
Oh, and poor Claude.
As for the Devils, their lineup has been confirmed, according to Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record. It looks like this:
Elias – Arnott – Langenbrunner
Zubrus – Josefson – Clarkson
Vasyunov – Mair – Nilson
Leblond – Mills – Palmieri
Salvador – Greene
Urbom – Tallinder
Fraser – Corrente
Hedberg
McKenna
Obviously, the Devils are sitting most of their big guns. Either way, it’ll be nice to have hockey back in our lives tonight. The game is on TV locally and nationally (Flyers broadcasters , so most of us should be able to watch in pure, crisp high definition.
This is the first real game thread of the year. Let’s do this thing.
