FLYERS VS. MAPLE LEAFS GAME PREVIEW (9:30 A.M. EST)
Looking to strengthen their shaky hold on second place in the Metropolitan Division, the Philadelphia Flyers (33-24-6) are in Ontario tonight to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (33-23-8). Game time is 7:00 p.m. EST. The match is a Hockey Night in Canada game that will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia and across Canada on the CBC.
This is the second of three meeting between the teams this season, who played each other in Philadelphia on opening night. It is the lone game in Toronto. The clubs will rematch at the Wells Fargo Center on March 28.
On opening night, Oct. 2, Peter Laviolette was still the Flyers' coach. In what proved to be his final home game behind the bench, the Flyers scored first and played fairly well but could only muster the early tally by Brayden Schenn. Two third period goals by Dave Bolland sealed a 3-1 win for the Leafs after Phil Kessel tied the game at 1-1 late in the second.
After tonight's game, the Flyers will return to action on Tuesday. Jaromir Jagr, the newest member of the NHL's elite 700-goal club, will be in town with the rest of the New Jersey Devils.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 3-1-0 after the Olympic break and 8-2-0 over their last 10 games. After the team started the season by going 1-7-0 through the first eight games and 4-10-1 through the first 15, the club has posted a 32-17-6 over its last 54 matches and 29-14-5 over the last 48 games.
Philadelphia enters this game coming off a home-and-home sweep of the Washington Capitals. On Wednesday night, the Flyers dominated for two periods and did just enough to stave off three Caps power play goals (including two in the third period) and a four-on-four goal to win by a 6-4 count.
Although the Flyers have won three of four since the Olympic break, they need to do a better job of staying away from crooked number goals against periods and avoiding the "one bad period per game" syndrome.
The Flyers have yielded a total of 17 goals in the four games since the break, which is incompatible with sustained success down the stretch. Most of the damage came in a 5 GA second period against San Jose, a 2 GA second period against the Rangers, a pair of 2 GA periods against the Caps in the front end of the home-and-home and the 3 GA third period on Wednesday.
On the flip side, the Flyers' offense has been cranking on all cylinders since early November. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Flyers scored just 22 goals (1.47 per game). Since that time, Philly has tallied 158 goals in 48 games (3.29 per game).
Not coincidentally, the Flyers offensive rise coincides with the point that Claude Giroux busted out of the slump that saw him go goalless in the first 15 games, pointless through the first five and post a modest seven assists through the first 15 tilts. Since that time, Giroux has racked up 23 goals and 34 assists for 57 points in the last 48 games.
Likewise, Jakub Voracek has significantly picked up the pace. He had a mere one goal and three assists in the first 15 games of the season. In the 48 games since, the top line right winger has compiled 17 goals, 24 assists and 41 points.
Second line right winger Wayne Simmonds had one goal and four assists through the first 16 games of the season. He has 18 goals. 23 assists and 41 points in the last 47 games.
As the season has progressed, the Flyers have shown good scoring depth. They have eight double-digit goal scorers among the forwards on the club. It is also worth noting that the Flyers have gotten a reasonable amount of goal-scoring production from their blueline this season. Philadelphia defensemen have combined for 26 goals this season, including eight for Mark Streit and five for the now-traded Andrej Meszaros.
On the injury front, backup goaltender Ray Emery (groin) remains day-to-day. Cal Heeter is still with the NHL team to back up Steve Mason.
MAPLE LEAFS OUTLOOK
The Leafs have points in eight of their last 10 games (6-2-2) dating back before the Olympic break but are just 1-1-2 in their four games since the break. Toronto is coming off a 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
In their last game, Toronto held a 2-0 lead in the third period on goals by Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri, only to see the Rangers come back to send the game to overtime. At 1:51 of the extra frame, Bozak scored his second of the game to win the match in sudden death. On the winning play, Bozak got wide open on the doorstep to take a pass from Phil Kessel. Winning goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 35 of 37 shots for the win.
Back on opening night of the season for Philly (it was Toronto's second game), Bernier's play was the primary reason the Leafs hung in and eventually beat the Flyers. On that night, Bernier authored numerous brilliant saves among the 31 he made as the Leafs started the season with their second straight win.
Opponents have to expect a physical game whenever they play the Leafs. Toronto leads the NHL with 2,088 credited hits this season (the Flyers are 7th with 1,622). The Leafs also block a lot of shots, ranking sixth in the NHL with 980.
U.S. Olympians Phil Kessel (33 goals, 70 points) and James van Riemsdyk (26 goals, 52 points) lead a Leafs attack that features six forwards with 14-plus goals this season. Former Flyers winger van Riemsdyk has five points -- including a two-goal game against Montreal on March 1 -- in the team's four games since the break.
Around Toronto, one of the big stories of late has been the Leafs' recent struggles on the power play. Over the past eight games, the Leafs have gone 0-for-17 on the man advantage and have compounded it by allowing four shorthanded goals since the Olympic break. The Leafs still rank 4th in the NHL in power play efficiency for the season.
Top-pairing defenseman Dion Phaneuf took a maintenance day at the Leafs' practice yesterday, but is expected to be in the lineup tonight. Any time the Flyers play the Leafs, there is a good chance that top line left wing Scott Hartnell and Phaneuf will renew hostilities at some point.
Phaneuf has had a good season overall, posting a plus-19 rating and 89 penalty minutes to go along with six goals and 24 points. While the offensive numbers are down from past seasons, Phaneuf has done a better job at playing under control.
As with the Flyers, the Leafs are prone to breakdowns in their team defense. The Leafs ranked 26th in the NHL in goals against, often forcing the team to try to outscore its defensive lapses in order to win. A big part of the GA problem for the Leafs has been the way the team has often struggled to kill penalties this season. The Leafs rank 28th in the NHL in that department.
Unlike the Flyers, shootouts are a common means of victory for coach Randy Carlyle's Maple Leafs this season. Among the Leafs' 33 wins this season, nine have come via shootout (Philly has three shootout wins). While that has bolstered Toronto in the standings, the modest number of regulation and overtime wins could work against the Leafs if tiebreakers come into play in determining playoff positions in Atlantic Division or Eastern Conference wildcard races.
On the Toronto injury front, forwards Bolland (ankle) and Carter Ashton (hand) are out. The availability of enforcer forward Colton Orr (undisclosed) is questionable.
KEY STAT COMPARISONS (NHL OVERALL RANKING)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.809 (12th), Maple Leafs 2.8125 (10th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.84 (21st), Maple Leafs 2.98 (26th)
Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.96 (17th), Maple Leafs 1.01 (15th)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 20.1% (12th), Maple Leafs 21.0% (4th)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 83.3% (10th), Maple Leafs 77.7% (28th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 49.5% (20th), Maple Leafs 48.3% (25th)
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
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
47 Andrew MacDonald - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason
[33 Cal Heeter]
Potential Scratches: Ray Emery (groin), Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Jay Rosehill (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
MAPLE LEAFS
21 James van Riemsdyk - 42 Tyler Bozak - 81 Phil Kessel
19 Joffrey Lupul - 43 Nazem Kadri - 41 Nikolai Kulemin
12 Mason Raymond - 24 Peter Holland - 71 David Clarkson
40 Troy Bodie - 11 Jay McClement - [Mix-and-match]
36 Carl Gunnarsson - 3 Dion Phaneuf
8 Tim Gleason - 44 Morgan Rielly
51 Jake Gardiner - 4 Cody Franson
15 Paul Ranger - [Mix-and-match]
45 Jonathan Bernier
[34 James Reimer]
Potential Scratches: Colton Orr (undisclosed, questionable), Carter Ashton (hand), Dave Bolland (IR, ankle surgery).
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ABRAMS FUNDRAISER: UPDATE
* On Sun. March 9, starting at 5 p.m., Abrams Hebrew Academy will hold its annual Fund Raising Dinner and Casino Royale Night at Congregation Beth El in Yardley, PA. Special guests for the night will include Bernie Parent, Brian Propp, Bill Clement, Joe Watson and Bob "the Hound" Kelly.
All proceeds go to benefit the school. My nephew, Sammy Sherman, attends Abrams and my sister, Liza, helped to organize the event and line up the Flyers alumni guests. The slogan for the night is "Help Abrams Make Its Goal."
Apart from the dinner and casino event, there will also be a host of items available via auction and raffle. The items include:
* Ultimate Flyers Fan Package: Consists of four VIP tickets for a Flyers' 2014-15 season game, an autographed Claude Giroux stick, an autographed Adam Hall mini-helmet, various autographed pucks, photos and hockey cards, a $100 Modells Gift Card, Flyers-themed accessories for your home or office, autographed copies of books by Bill Clement, NHL.com's Adam Kimelman and "Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask. Available by raffle.
*Autographed hockey stick signed by all three members of the LCB line: Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber and Reggie Leach. Available by auction.
* Autographed Bernie Parent goalie stick. Available by auction.
* Autographed Bernie Parent jersey. Available by auction.
* Autographed box of Bernie Parent's signature line of cigars. Available by auction.
* Jiclee of Bobby Clarke, autographed by the Hockey Hall of Famer. Available by auction.
* Howie Mandel DVD containing his"Guffaw" routine, autographed by Brian Propp. Available by auction.
* Autographed Brian Propp jersey. Available by auction.
* Team USA hockey stick autographed by Jeremy Roenick. Available by auction.
* Team Israel national team hockey jersey, donated by Israeli Hockey Federation. Available by auction.
* Pair of suite tickets to a Flyers game vs. Sabres on April 6 donated by ESPN Radio. Includes food and beverages. Available by auction.
* Pair of front row floor seats for 76ers game vs. Charlotte Bobcats on April 2. Includes access to Cadillac Grille and Lexus Club. Available by auction.
* Pair of tickets to a Philadelphia Eagles tickets for a 2014 season game. Available by auction.
* Autographed Troy Polamalu football. Available by auction.
* Disney package: Airfare for two, four one-day passes, two nights of hotel in Orlando. Available by raffle.
* Assorted theater tickets. Available by auction.
* Kids' summer camp packages. Available by auction.
* Executive suite for up to 25 people at a Camden River Sharks game. Available by raffle.
* Four tickets to Yankees vs. Angels at Yankee Stadium on April 27, Section 216, Row 3. Available by auction.
* Much more, including a basketball autographed by the Atlanta Hawks and other items.
For more information,
click here.
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