Which NHL team’s farm team is the most dangerous?
This year’s NHL crop of prospects could get a lot worse if they are all injured in the next month or so.
The farm team of the Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs will face off Saturday night at Air Canada Centre, with the Flyers’ Zach Werenski and the Leafs’ James van Riemsdyk facing off.
Werensk has missed the last two games with an upper-body injury.
He will be assessed Tuesday morning, and van Riemsk is expected to miss at least another month.
The Maple Leafs also lost forward Kyle Connor to an upper body injury Sunday, and defenseman Mitch Marner is day-to-day with an ankle injury.
The Flyers and Maple Leafs both have five other farm players who are either day- or night-to, and all three have been hit with a concussion.
They were expected to be a heavy favorite to win the East, but they are currently tied with the Toronto Maple Leaf for last place in the Eastern Conference.
The Flyers’ farm team currently ranks 15th in the NHL with a 3-14-1 record, with an overall record of 16-33-4.
They have the seventh-worst save percentage at .848, while their only other goalie, Travis Sanheim, has a .926 save percentage.
The Leafs have a 5-16-3 record, but are 10th in goals against average (2.03), eighth in goals-against percentage (.914), ninth in save percentage (.911) and tenth in goals for (42).
Injuries to some of the Flyers prospects could impact their chances to win.
The most notable injury has been a groin strain suffered by defenseman Brayden Schenn, who is day to day after missing five games.
Schenns has missed five games with a lower-body problem, while defenseman Nikita Soshnikov and forwards Jakub Voracek and Nazem Kadri have also been out.
The Maple Leafs’ farm club is currently fourth in the East with a 2-12-0 record.
They are tied with Pittsburgh for last in the Central Division, but have struggled mightily lately.
They’ve gone 6-4-0 and are now tied with Tampa Bay for the final playoff spot in the conference.
Toronto has a 3.48 goals-for percentage and is tied for second in the league with a plus-15 rating, while the Maple Leafs are minus-11 and are tied for 10th with a minus-16 mark.