Philadelphia @ Vancouver preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 4, 2019 ) Vancouver 1, Philadelphia 2

The Philadelphia Flyers attempt to win their third straight game to open a season for the first time since 2011-12 when they open a three-game road trip versus the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. The Flyers have gone to great lengths to emerge victorious in their first two contests, skating to a 4-3 win over Chicago in Prague before shutting out New Jersey in Philadelphia.

Travis Konecny and Carter Hart have been front and center in both wins for the Flyers, with the former collecting five points (three goals, two assists) in the two games while the latter became the youngest goaltender in franchise history to record a shutout. The 21-year-old Hart had the hockey world buzzing during Wednesday's 4-0 victory over the Devils when he highlighted his 25-save performance with an acrobatic stop on former Hart Trophy recipient Taylor Hall. Hart likely will return to the crease for the opener of the road trip versus Vancouver, which answered its two-goal total in its first two road games with its largest offensive eruption at home in 16 years with an 8-2 romp over Los Angeles on Wednesday. "I don't want people thinking that we lost the first two games, it's a bad start," J.T. Miller said after he recorded his first career four-point performance with a goal and three assists. "I think we felt really comfortable and confident after those games coming into (Wednesday's game). It's nice to see the pucks finally start to go in."

TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBCS Philadelphia, CBC (Vancouver)

ABOUT THE FLYERS (2-0-0): Alain Vigneault's uptempo system and liberal use of all four lines have produced positive results in the early going, but the new coach insists it's only the tip of the iceberg. "Oh no, we are long way from where I think we need to get," Vigneault said as he heads to Vancouver to face one of his former teams. "I think we are doing some good things. Players are starting to understand certain aspects of the game that we want to implement, but we still have a lot of work to do to ensure our guys know what to do." Kevin Hayes, who knows Vigneault well from their time with the New York Rangers, scored his first goal on Wednesday since signing a seven-year, $50 million contract in the offseason.

ABOUT THE CANUCKS (1-2-0): While Vancouver ushered in a new era by naming Bo Horvat as the 14th captain in franchise history, the fans at Rogers Arena also saw a bit of history in the form of defenseman Quinn Hughes netting his first career NHL goal. "It's something I have been thinking about for a long time, just to get that one under my belt," said the 19-year-old Hughes, who was the seventh overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft. "I've told everyone from the start I'm going to try to get better every game. I feel really good right now." Fellow blue-liner Alex Edler also tallied against Los Angeles to match Brandon Sutter for the team lead in goals with two.

OVERTIME

1. Vancouver RW Brock Boeser collected two goals and an assist in two meetings with Philadelphia last season.

2. The Flyers surrendered 15 goals during their three-game trek through Western Canada last season, including by a 5-1 setback against the Canucks on Dec. 15.

3. Canucks G Jacob Markstrom owns a 1.73 goals-against average and .945 save percentage in six career appearances versus Philadelphia, but only has a 2-3-0 mark to show for it.

PREDICTION: Flyers 3, Canucks 2