FLYERS-OILERS GAME PREVIEW (9:15 A.M. EST)
Kicking off a six-game road trip and the first of three games in four nights, the Philadelphia Flyers (17-16-4) are in Alberta to take on the Edmonton Oilers (13-24-3). Game time is 10:00 p.m. EST. The match will be televised locally on CSN Phily and nationally across Canada as a Hockey Night in Canada game on CBC.
This is the second of two meetings between the inter-conference teams this season, and the lone game in Edmonton. On Nov. 9, a goal-starved Flyers team broke loss for four goals against a defensively porous Edmonton team in a 4-2 home victory. Jay Rosehill, Scott Hartnell, Claude Giroux (first goal of the season) and Vincent Lecavalier scored for the Flyers, while Steve Mason turned back 24 of 26 shots.
After tonight's game, the Flyers head to British Columbia for a Monday night game against the Vancouver Canucks and then back to Alberta for a New Year's Eve matchup with the Calgary Flames the next night.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are coming off a 4-1 home win against the Minnesota Wild in the final game before a four-night Christmas break. Wayne Simmonds scored even strength and empty net goals, while Luke Schenn and Claude Giroux tallied once apiece.
Flyers team captain Giroux brings a career-best seven-game point streak (five goals, eight assists, 13 points) into tonight's game. Linemate Jakub Voracek will try extend his career-best eight-game point streak (six goals, seven assists, 13 points). In the meantime, second line right winger Simmonds has scored four goals in his last two games and has five goals and seven points over a current four-game point streak.
Flyers goaltender Steve Mason has not had great month of December (2.85 GAA, .898 save percentage), but is coming off a strong game against Minnesota, in which he stopped 26 of 27 shots and yielded only an unstoppable goal on 5-on-3 penalty kill. Overall, he has posted a 2.35 goals against average, 14-9-4 record, and .923 save percentage in 28 appearances.
Steve Downie (upper body injury) is slated to return to the lineup. He is reportedly slated to skate on the fourth line to start tonight's game, with Vincent Lecavalier remaining on a third line wing and Brayden Schenn staying put as second line center.
Defenseman Erik Gustafsson remains out of the lineup. He could miss another week with a left knee sprain.
OILERS OUTLOOK
The Oilers are coming off a 2-0 shutout road win in Calgary on Friday night. Veteran forward Ryan Smyth notched a pair of goals, while Devan Dubnyk turned back all 27 shots fired his way. For the month of December, the Oilers have posted a 5-7-1 record. Dallas Eakins' squad has won two in a row after dropping six straight games in regulation.
Despite last night's shutout, the Oilers have still allowed more goals (135 in 40 games) than any team in the NHL. Tonight is the statistical midpoint of the season for the Oilers.
Former Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov, whom the Oilers signed just before the first game between the teams this season, is slated to make his first start against Philadelphia after the team bought him out last summer. Bryzgalov played very well in his first few starts for the Oilers but has struggled since returning from a concussion. For the season to date, he has posted a 2.80 goals against average and .915 save percentage in eight appearances.
Bryzgalov's tendencies should be well-known to his former teammates. He is good when play is on close and when he is able to block the puck. When focused and tracking the puck well, he can be very effective. Bryzgalov gets in trouble when he leaves rebounds off to the side, does not move particularly well laterally in general, and gets bothered by traffic in front of him.
Taylor Hall comes into tonight's game leading the Oilers in scoring, with 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 33 games. David Perron, who scored a goal in the first meeting of the season against the Flyers, leads the squad with 15 tallies.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 92 Jakub Voracek
19 Scott Hartnell - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 40 Vincent Lecavalier
36 Zac Rinaldo - 76 Chris VandeVelde - 9 Steve Downie
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
41 Andrej Meszaros - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
Potential Scratches: Jay Rosehill (healthy), Adam Hall (flu), Hal Gill (healthy), Erik Gustafsson (sprained knee), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
OILERS
4 Taylor Hall - 93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 57 David Perron
6 Jesse Joensuu - 89 Sam Gagner - 14 Jordan Eberle
94 Ryan Smyth - 27 Boyd Gordon - 83 Ales Hemsky
20 Luke Gazdic - 51 Anton Lander - 64 Nail Yakupov
21 Andrew Ference - 19 Justin Schultz
15 Nick Schultz - 2 Jeff Petry
77 Anton Belov - 44 Corey Potter
80 Ilya Bryzgalov
[40 Devan Dubnyk]
Potential Scratches: Philip Larsen (flu), Roman Horak (healthy), Martin Marincin (healthy), Mark Arcobello (IR, ribs), Ryan Jones (IR, head),
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