Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
The Blackhawks wrap up their pair of weekend matinees back at home on Sunday afternoon when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at the United Center.
Philly enters this game much closer to Chicago in the NHL standings than it’d probably like to be, with 65 points in 71 games, tied with the Kraken for the No. 27 overall spot in the league. It’s been a rather unpleasant month or so for the Flyers, who have just one victory in their last 10 games. March started with a seven-game homestand for Philadelphia, and it won just one game during that span before hitting the road and losing three straight, including a 3-2 OT loss to the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Offense has been the most obvious issue, as the Flyers have been held to two goals or fewer in eight of the last 10, with a pair of shutouts in their for good measure. An offensive dynamo, this team is not.
Travis Konecny (66 points in 71 games) remains the team’s top scoring threat, followed by 20-year-old blossoming star Matvei Michkov (48 in 69). There’s a decent quartet of players in their mid-20s providing scoring depth in Owen Tippett (37 in 66), Bobby Brink (32 in 68), Tyson Foerster (31 in 70) and Noah Cates (28 in 67), although the Flyers’ recent offensive woes certainly underscore the team’s lack of true top-end scoring talent. On the blue line, ice time leaders are Travis Sanheim (24:26) and Cam York (21:17), with Rasmus Ristolainen in at No. 3 (20:31) but currently sidelined with an injury. Youth is served on the blue line with 22-year-olds Jamie Drysdale (who came over in the Cutter Gauthier trade) and Emil Andrade up in the high teens for average ice time this season. It’s all very much a work in progress here for the Flyers, who should have another top draft pick to add to the prospect pool that could help the long-term picture look a little rosier for the Broad Street tenants.
In net, the Flyers have three young-ish goalies who’ve played at times this season and none have stood out in any measurable way. Ivan Fedotov started against Dallas on Saturday but was relieved during the first intermission by Sam Ersson, so either one could be the starting option in this game.
Here’s the lineup from Saturday for Philly:
Flyers lines per @jackiespiegel93.bsky.social Foerster-Cates-Brink Michkov-Couturier-Konecny Tippett-Poehling-Pelletier Deslauriers-Abols-Lycksell York-Sanheim Seeler-Drysdale Andrae-Zamula Fedotov
— lineslineslines.bsky.social (@lineslineslines.bsky.social) March 22, 2025 at 12:40 PM
As for the Hawks, the lineup will be anyone’s guess after Jason Dickinson and Alec Martinez both departed Saturday’s loss early and did not return. Below is how they started against St. Louis. The only educated guess of an adjustment that can be made is Spencer Knight relieving Arvid Soderblom in net. Everything else will be learned when the Hawks take the ice for the pregame skate.
Two teams near the bottom of the league standings that can’t score in the middle of overall slumps meeting at the UC on a Sunday afternoon. Maybe it’ll get weird?
Let’s go Hawks.
Blackhawks — Statistic — Flyers43.98% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Corsi For — 48.15% (26th)43.24% (32nd) — 5-on-5 Expected goals for — 51.97% (8th)2.67 (t-27th) — Goals per game — 2.7 (26th)3.54 (30th) — Goals against per game — 3.34 (28th)45.2% (31st) — Faceoffs — 50.1% (t-17th)24.8% (8th) — Power play — 14.1% (30th)81.3% (11th) — Penalty kill — 77.9% (17th)
(All stats from this season)
When: 2 p.m. CT
Where: United Center, Chicago
TV: CHSN+, NHL Network
Webstream: ESPN+, Hulu (May be a blackout on these apps because of the NHL Network broadcast, though)
Radio: WGN 720
