The Flyers are making a change on the blue line for Wednesday night’s matchup with the host Buffalo Sabres, and David Jiricek appears to be the odd man out.
Reports indicate that Simon Benoit, who played Saturday against Ottawa before sitting Monday against the Avs, is back in. He’s expected to skate with Hunter McDonald on Philadelphia’s third pair. Rick Tocchet also confirmed that Dan Vladař will start, while Tyson Foerster is a game-time decision.
McDonald’s assignment carries a little extra meaning. The defenseman grew up in Western New York, and he’ll have family in the building. At the same time, Jiricek is staying on late, which points to him being scratched for the game.
The move is a little surprising given how Jiricek had started to settle in during his limited work. He logged 14:08 in the win over Ottawa, then dropped to 9:20 against Colorado.
That game got away from him as his shifts dried up late: four in the third period, with three coming in the first nine minutes, then one 40-second shift with a little more than six minutes left before he didn’t see the ice again. Before facing Colorado, he had been sitting in the 13-to-15-minute range per night, which was down from the 17-to-18 minutes he was getting earlier in the season and, as the source material puts it, looking a bit out of sorts as a result.
Jiricek’s absence also reshuffles the Flyers’ power-play options. Jamie Drysdale and/or Oliver Bonk could pick up more of the quarterbacking duties on the two units. Travis Sanheim probably isn’t the likeliest choice there, given how many minutes he’ll be asked to handle at even strength, though the two-day break since the Anaheim game Saturday afternoon could leave room for Tocchet to lean on him more than usual with the man advantage.
The decision to go with Benoit over Jiricek also comes with a numbers check that doesn’t separate the two nearly as much as one might expect. Jiricek and Benoit have each played nine games.
Benoit has the edge in five-on-five ice time, 112 minutes to 111, while Jiricek has blocked twice as many shots, 12 to six. Benoit has also coughed the puck up twice as often, 12 times to Jiricek’s six, and nine of Benoit’s giveaways came in the Flyers’ defensive zone.
Jiricek holds a slight edge in both Corsi and Fenwick, sitting at 48 per cent to 45 per cent in Corsi and 45 per cent to 42 per cent in Fenwick.
Still, the lineup choice suggests the Flyers see something they want to test with Benoit and McDonald, whether that’s size on the third pair or a chance to get Benoit back into game action. It also comes at a cost, since Jiricek’s departure removes another body from a power play that has started to show a faint pulse.
For McDonald, the opportunity is another chance to make an impression. With Cam York and Rasmus Ristolainen out, Philadelphia has been forced to keep shuffling the bottom of the defense. There doesn’t appear to be a clear fifth, sixth, or seventh defenseman among Benoit, Jiricek and McDonald, and once York and Ristolainen are back - assuming no trades change the picture - none of those three may be dressing regularly.
Sanheim is likely to be paired with Ristolainen, York should return with Drysdale, and Seeler could end up with Oliver Bonk if the Flyers want to keep him with the big club. McDonald, for now, looks like the short-term call-up who has to show he belongs.
He may have a real chance to do that on Wednesday. McDonald is making his second start of the season and third of his career, and he brought some bite against Colorado in 10 minutes of ice time. He wasn’t shy about throwing the body, and he helped add some punch to the third pairing.
A native of Fairport, New York - about a 90-minute drive east of Buffalo - McDonald said he’s tried to carry his camp confidence into the season.
“I thought I had a good camp and just tried to take that confidence into the start of the season,” McDonald after Wednesday’s morning skate. “I thought I did that pretty well. I’m always trying to keep improving and I’m excited to get this opportunity, for sure.”
Tocchet sounded encouraged by what he’s seen from him as well.
“I thought he’s been playing well down there, I was talking to Snowy (Phantoms coach John Snowden),” Tocchet said Wednesday. “I thought he was moving the puck quick, his first pass quickly.
And there were a couple of times in the corners that he squashed some cycle plays. He went in there aggressively and shut the play down.
If we can get that out of him consistently, that will help our team.”
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