Flyers defense is sinking the road trip in Calgary

The Flyers defense is sitting at the center of their road problem as the team heads to Calgary on Sunday at 4-10-4.

Philadelphia lost 3-2 at the Rangers on Thursday night, and the 1-6-1 road record is a big reason the Flyers are 30th in the NHL. The goals against column explains plenty of it.

The Flyers have allowed 61 goals and scored 39, a -22 differential. When one side of that gap is this lopsided, you look at who is on the ice when the puck goes in.

Start with Cam York. He is a -9 in 10 games, with one assist and no goals, and that is the worst rating among the Flyers defensemen listed here.

Oliver Bonk is right behind at -8 in 12 games. The 2023 first-round pick has 6 points, so the offense is there, but the rating says what happens at the other end.

Travis Sanheim is a -6 through 18 games, and Simon Benoit sits at -4 in 13. David Jiricek, in nine games, is a -3.

Who is holding up on the Flyers blue line

Two defensemen are on the right side of zero. Jamie Drysdale is a +1 with 8 points in 18 games, and Nick Seeler is also a +1.

That is it. Two plus-ratings out of seven defensemen, on a team that is 12 points through 18 games.

Add it up and the five defensemen in the red carry a combined -30. That is a bigger number than the team's entire goal differential minus eight, and it tells you how little cover the group has given its goaltending.

Rick Tocchet has leaned on his veterans and his young defensemen alike, and none of the mixes has produced a clean result. These ratings do not say why, and the sheet does not either. They do say the problem is not confined to one pair.

Calgary is not a gift, but it is a team that lost 3-5 to Anaheim on Friday and is 7-9-1. The Flames are 5-4-0 at home, so Philadelphia will not walk into an easy building.

The Flyers will need their blue line to change the road story on Sunday, because the numbers through 18 games leave little room for another night like Thursday's.

Quick hits

COLORADO AVALANCHEMackenzie Blackwood was the first goalie off the ice this morning, according to Aarif Deen, and he appears set to start tonight.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNINGJoe Smith reports Dennis Hildeby, not Andrei Vasilevskiy, gets the start in Minnesota tonight. Surprise for the Vasilevskiy faithful.

EDMONTON OILERSZach Hyman and Devon Levi were activated from injured reserve hours before the game against the Canucks, NHL Rosters reported. Good timing for Edmonton.

FLORIDA PANTHERSTom Wilson was ejected after a 5-minute boarding major on Sandis Vilmanis, PuckReportNHL reports, with the Panthers playing at Washington.

ST. LOUIS BLUESLou Korac reports the Blues lineup is set in Nashville, and Mason McTavish is officially in tonight.