UPDATE 6 PM
Ray Emery is in goal tonight after all.
PREVIEW (10:30 AM)
On the heels of a gutty 5-2 win last night in Buffalo, the Flyers (8-4-1) begin a four-game homestand tonight when they take on the St. Louis Blues (5-6-2) at the Wachovia Center. The Flyers need to avoid a letdown tonight. They've played three straight solid games, while St. Louis has been inconsistent of late.
Philly played a strong game five-on-five last night and continues to get outstanding performances from its third and fourth forward lines as well fine goaltending from
Ray Emery. The top defense pairing of Matt Carle and
Chris Pronger shined again last night, while
Kimmo Timonen and
Braydon Coburn continue to round into form over the last several games. The club's special teams weren't so hot last night, but that could easily have been a product of missing so much practice time over the week.
St. Louis needs to start getting more production from its top forwards.
Keith Tkachuk (3 goals, 9 points) continues to lead the club in scoring, while Andy Murray will also be looking to get more from the likes of
Paul Kariya,
Andy McDonald,
Brad Boyes,
Patrik Berglund and David Perrin. Highly touted but oft-injured
Lars Eller finally made his NHL debut, scoring a goal against Calgary.
As of this writing, the Flyers have not announced a starting goalie for tonight's game. Early indications are that
Brian Boucher will get his second start of the season tonight.
STARTING LINEUP (subject to change)
Hartnell - Richards - Giroux
JVR - Carter - Laliberte
Carcillo - Betts - Laperriere
Pyorala - Powe - Asham
Carle - Pronger
Coburn - Timonen
Tollefsen - Syvret
Boucher/Emery