Preview: Flyers Open Regular Season Tonight In Tampa
By Matt Leon
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The regular season starts tonight for the Flyers.
The Orange and Black get a tough test to open the campaign as they will visit the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Flyers are coming off a season which saw them go 33-31-18 and miss the playoffs with 84 points. That led to a coaching change. Craig Berube is gone, replaced this season by Dave Hakstol who joined the Flyers after a wildly successful career as a head coach in college at the University of North Dakota.
Steve Mason will be in net tonight for the Flyers. He is coming off a season which saw him go 18-18-11 with three shutouts. He had a 2.25 GAA and a .928 save percentage.
The Flyers have some firepower. The offense this season will be led by Jakub Voracek, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds. Voracek led the team in scoring last season with 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 82 games. Giroux had 25 goals and 48 assists for 73 points and Simmonds led the team in goals with 28.
The Flyers have lost seven straight match-ups against the Lightning down in Tampa.
KYW's Matt Leon spoke with Dave Isaac of the Courier Post about tonight's match-up and what people should expect out of the Flyers this season.
You can follow Matt on Twitter @mattleonkyw.