Flyers vs. Jets
7 p.m. on CSN, Pregame Live at 6:30
The Flyers (7-7-3) look to rebound from Tuesday’s tough loss when they host the Winnipeg Jets (9-7-2) on Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Here are five things to know for the game.
1. Accountable Mase
Postgame Tuesday, goalie Steve Mason was peeved at himself for allowing a stoppable wraparound marker with 1:59 left in regulation, surrendering the Flyers’ one-goal lead en route to an eventual 3-2 shootout defeat to the Senators on home ice.
Mason declined to speak to the media afterwards.
“Sometimes you just have to step away and gather your thoughts,” Mason said Wednesday at practice. “That goal was on me. It put us into a situation where we had to go into overtime and eventually, a shootout. We lost a point there.”
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The netminder was so upset with himself, the Flyers took notice. Maybe both Mason and the Flyers come into tonight’s game with some extra kick playing for each other.
“It’s just respect,” 19-year-old rookie Travis Konecny said. “When guys step up like that, we all know as a team in here that we are all responsible for what happens. A young guy like me, when I see that, it’s good to see. I know myself, I need to be accountable for what I do.”
Mason needs to refocus and regroup against a Jets team scoring a Western Conference-leading 3.44 goals per game in November.
2. High-fueled Jets
The Flyers, allowing an NHL-most 3.53 goals per game, will have their hands full with Winnipeg duo Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine.
Scheifele, a 23-year-old center, is tied for the NHL points lead with 21, as he’s posted 10 goals and 11 assists for a plus-10 rating, while the 18-year-old stud winger Laine is atop the league’s goals board with 12.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2016 draft is a 6-foot-5, 206-pound physical specimen.
“He’s basically on all the highlights,” Mason said. “He seems to be there almost every night. Even going into the draft, I saw an interview with him. He looked like he was already a man. He’s obviously got a shot that can be up there with the [Alex] Ovechkins, Brett Hull, whoever you want to call it.”
3. Shots, shots, shots
The Flyers continue to outshoot opponents, which shows they’re often controlling play and sustaining possession.
The orange and black have ripped 33 or more shots in six of the past seven games and lead all of hockey with 32.9 shots per game, while yielding the fourth fewest at 27.2 — which goes to show you just how shoddy the defense and goaltending have been.
But if the Flyers can keep peppering goalies, they’ll give themselves a chance night in and night out.
4. Keep an eye on ...
Flyers: Sean Couturier will be critical, not only for a need in offensive production (he has one goal and two assists in last 12 games), but also for his line’s work against Marko Dano, Scheifele and Laine, a more than likely matchup.
Jets: How do you not pick Laine? He stands out once he steps foot on the ice is feeling good right now with nine points (six goals, three assists) over his past seven games.
5. This and that
• Mason has manhandled the Jets in seven career meetings, going 5-0-1 with a 1.23 goals-against average and .958 save percentage.
• Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who has never faced the Flyers, is 7-4-0 on the season with a 2.45 goals-against average and .916 save percentage. He’s coming a 27-save shutout of the Blackhawks.
• Claude Giroux is without a point in his last two games. It’s the first time all season the Flyers’ captain has gone pointless in consecutive contests.
• The Jets, second in the Central Division, have won four of their last five games, a stretch in which they’ve outscored opponents 20-9.
