Here’s why Sunday night’s game against Philadelphia is a bit of a special one

Well folks, we’re doing things a little differently here! Yes, the Bruins are playing in Detroit tomorrow night, but we’re giving you a little bit of an early preview of Sunday night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Why? We’re joining some of our other SBNation hockey buds in highlighting a big home game this month, and this is the one we got.

Why is this a big game?

From a standings perspective, this game doesn’t appear to be one that would be considered impactful. However, we’re giving it a “big one” title for another reason: the budding Boston-Philadelphia rivalry.

The Celtics and the 76ers are going to run into each other frequently over the next few years. Eagles fans are still flying high over their Super Bowl win over the Patriots a couple of years ago. The Phillies and the Red Sox are...well, we’ll leave them out for now.

Still, this one kind of kicks off what we can call Philly Week if you’re a Boston sports fan; if you’re not a fan of all of the Boston teams, I can’t really help you. Maybe consider joining us.

The Patriots are off on Sunday, making Sunday Night Hockey the only sport in town. Bright lights! Big city! Let’s do it.

After that, what’s the next game on the Patriots’ schedule? Why, it’s a visit to Philadelphia to play those Eagles!

We’re going to want to see the Bruins kick off Philly Week with a W, allowing the Patriots to close out Philly Week with a W of their own.

What about on the ice?

The Bruins game itself should be a pretty entertaining one as well. While the Flyers aren’t exactly setting the hockey world aflame, they’re an interesting team.

Carter Hart may be the first legitimate goalie the Flyers have had in nearly 300 years. Claude Giroux is still very good. Travis Konecny is a talented young player, as is Ivan Provorov.

However, there’s one guy who stands above the rest: my man Kevin Hayes, my favorite current NHL player from Dorchester. Kevin and his brother, Jimmy, are currently the only two players in NHL history to grow up on the same street as me.

It’s worth noting, of course, that I am currently the only person in the history of my street to manage an SBNation hockey site, so you could say that all three of us have excelled in our professions.

Thus far, Hayes has recorded 7 points in 14 games after signing his big contract. The hope is that he runs wild on the NHL this season...after this game, of course.

See it for yourself

Unsurprisingly, this game is a bit of a hot ticket. After all, the Bruins don’t play a ton of Sunday night games, let alone Sunday night games when the Patriots aren’t in action.

Still, there are tickets available on StubHub if you want to get in. If you do, make sure you wave to all of my neighbors from Dorchester who came to watch my other neighbor play.

Get tickets

If you haven’t been to the Garden yet this season, it really is quite a sight. Even though we all give the franchise a bit of a hard time for certain aspects of the arena experience, they are doing a pretty good job of doing what they can with the existing space.

The new press box, for example, now has seats that hang over the edge of the balcony. My seat last week was in that new section, and while the view is great, the seats aren’t for those uncomfortable with heights.

Plus, Guy Fieri’s tequila restaurant is now open. You can visit Flavortown before you go watch a hockey game.

What a time to be alive.

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