FLYERS @ SHARKS GAME PREVIEW (7:30 A.M. EST)

In the final installment of a three-game road trip through California, the Philadelphia Flyers (27-23-6) will take on the San Jose Sharks (35-15-6). Game time is 10:30 PM EST. The match will be televised locally on The Comcast Network (TCN Philadelphia).

This is the first of two meeting of the season between the clubs. It is the lone game in San Jose. The teams will rematch in Philadelphia in the Flyers' first game after the upcoming Olympic break.

The Flyers will return home for their final two games before the break. They will play host to Colorado on Thursday evening and Calgary on Saturday on Saturday afternoon.

FLYERS OUTLOOK

After finishing the month of January with a 6-7-2 record thus far in January and starting off the California road trip with a hard-fought 5-3 loss to the NHL-leading Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers captured a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

Steve Mason played a spectacular game in goal on an afternoon in which the Flyers got outshot by a 35-13 margin. Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux (power play) provided the two goals the Flyers scored.

One area that has been generally going well of late has been the power play. Heading into tonight's game, the Flyers are 13-for-54 (24.1 percent) on the man advantage over the last 15 matches.

On the injury front, Kimmo Timonen (badly bruised left foot) is questionable for tonight's game. He will participate in the morning skate and make a decision about tonight. He sat out Saturday's game after struggling through Thursday's game in Anaheim.

SHARKS OUTLOOK

The Sharks have been a powerhouse team at home this season, boasting a 20-3-3 mark at the SAP Center. However, the club stumbled through the final week of January with three straight regulation losses: a 1-0 loss on home ice to Los Angeles, followed by consecutive night road defeats to the lowly Edmonton Oilers (3-0) and Calgary Flames (4-1).

San Jose appeared to right its ship as the calendar flipped to February. On Saturday night, the Sharks elevated their game to skate off with a 2-1 home victory via shootout against the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

The Sharks outshot the Hawks by a 39-30 margin in regulation and overtime. The game was scoreless until the third period when Joe Pavelski struck for a shorthanded goal. However, the Blackhawks answered right back to tie the game before the expiration of its power play.

Ultimately, Patrick Marleau scored the winning goal in the shootout. Workhorse starter Antti Niemi turned back 29 of 30 shots for the victory.

Joe Thornton, still a prolific playmaker at age 34, leads the team with 47 assists and 55 points in 56 games. Both Pavelski (29 goals) and Marleau (22 goals) have already surpassed the 20-goal mark on the season, and the team has six players with double-digit goals on the season.

The Sharks have an extensive injury list as the Olympic break nears. Key forward Logan Couture (14 goals, 35 points in 43 games) remains sidelined after undergoing hand surgery. Flashy rookie forward Tomas Hertl (15 goals, 25 points in 35 games) is out after knee surgery. Veteran penalty killer, locker room leader and on-ice agitator Adam Burish is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. So, too, is oft-controversial hitting forward Raffi Torres (knee surgery).

KEY STAT COMPARISONS (NHL OVERALL RANKING)

Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.66 (17th), Sharks 2.84 (8th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.82 (18th), Sharks 2.30 (4th)
Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.90 (21st), Sharks 1.16 (8th)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 19.5% (12th), Sharks 17.8% (18th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 83.9% (6th), Sharks 83.6% (8th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 48.8% (22nd), Sharks 53.2% (2nd)


PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)

FLYERS

19 Scott Hartnell - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek
40 Vincent Lecavalier - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
9 Steve Downie - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read
12 Michael Raffl - 18 Adam Hall - 36 Zac Rinaldo

Defense pairings if Kimmo Timonen is available to play

44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
26 Erik Gustafsson - 22 Luke Schenn

Defense pairings if Kimmo Timonen is unavailable to play

8 Nicklas Grossmann - 5 Braydon Coburn
26 Erik Gustafsson - 22 Luke Schenn
41 Andrej Meszaros - 32 Mark Streit

35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]

Potential Scratches: Kimmo Timonen (questionable, bruised foot), Andrej Meszaros (healthy scratch if Timonen plays), Jay Rosehill (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).

SHARKS

8 Joe Pavelski - 19 Joe Thornton - 88 Brent Burns
57 Tommy Wingels - 12 Patrick Marleau - 9 Martin Havlat
38 Bracken Kearns - 10 Andrew Desjardins - 83 Matthew Nieto
15 James Sheppard - 76 Eriah Hayes - 18 Mike Brown

44 Marc-Edouard Vlasic - 5 Jason Demers
7 Brad Stuart - 61 Justin Braun
52 Matt Irwin - 22 Dan Boyle

31 Antti Niemi
[32 Alex Stalock]

Scratches: Scott Hannan (healthy), Tyler Kennedy (healthy), Logan Couture(IR, hand surgery), Tomas Hertl (IR, knee injury), Adam Burish (IR, lower body), Raffi Torres (IR, knee surgery).

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Listen to the latest edition of Metro Buzz, with columnists Bill Meltzer, Dan Petriw and Jan Levine. Recorded 2/2/14




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