Flyers' Black Aces Could Have Strong Impact vs. Penguins

The Philadelphia Flyers proved in a 3-2 Game 1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins that experience in the Stanley Cup playoffs can sometimes be overrated.

On Monday, the Flyers added two black aces to the fold, bringing up defensemen Oliver Bonk and David Jiricek from the AHL Lehigh Valley Phantoms, whose season ended without a playoff berth.

They join No. 3 goalie Aleksei Kolosov as the other black aces on the Flyers’ roster, though, unlike Kolosov, they have a much clearer path to making an impact.

In Saturday’s win against the Penguins, defenseman Emil Andrae played just 9:39, notably not playing even a second on the power play nor the penalty kill.

Andrae’s defense partner, Nick Seeler, was limited to just 14:04, including 2:07 on the penalty kill.

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Analytically, Andrae, 24, has been excellent this season, but it’s clear that head coach Rick Tocchet doesn’t yet trust him in an expanded role, which is only exacerbated in the higher-stakes playoffs.

That may open the door to an opportunity for Bonk or Jiricek–the latter in particular–to come into the lineup and contribute on the power play.

By inserting Jiricek, who played 19:37 alongside Seeler in a 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in the regular season finale, the Flyers can still have their desired right-shot point man on the power play while preserving someone like Rasmus Ristolainen or Jamie Drysdale for more important minutes at 5-on-5 or on the penalty kill.

The 6-foot-4 Czech defender shouldn’t have any issues handling the physicality of the series, either; the Flyers and Penguins combined for 80 hits on Saturday night.

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Jiricek has 85 games of NHL experience and produced 13 points in 15 games with the Phantoms, so he isn’t walking into a potential opportunity cold or blind.

It would be a surprise if the Flyers changed their winning lineup from Game 1, but it should be acknowledged that there is a very real chance we see Jiricek or Bonk play for the Flyers at some point in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

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