FLYERS VS. PENGUINS GAME PREVIEW (7:45 A.M. EST)
Kicking off a slate of extremely difficult games against top-notch opponents, the Philadelphia Flyers (33-25-7) begin a home-and-home set with a Saturday matinee against the Eastern Conference leading Pittsburgh Penguins (44-17-4). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. EST. The match will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia.
This is the third of five meetings between the arch-rival clubs and the second and final one in Philadelphia. The teams will rematch tomorrow in Pittsburgh and then again on April 12.
On Oct. 17, the Flyers fell to 1-7-0 on the season after a 4-1 home loss to the Penguins. The Penguins utterly dominated the second period but a Wayne Simmonds goal in the closing seconds of the stanza cut a 2-0 deficit in half. In the third period, the Flyers came close several times to tying the game but the Penguins countered and added some insurance.
On Nov. 13, the Flyers eked out a 2-1 road win in Pittsburgh. Ray Emery was stellar in making 30 saves. Pittsburgh dominated the first period but the Flyers took a 1-0 lead to the locker room on a Brayden Schenn goal in the latter part of the period. Philadelphia was the better team in the middle frame and power play goals by the Pens' Sidney Crosby and the Flyers' Brayden Schenn canceled each other out. The first half of the third period was even and then the Pens made a late push that the Flyers survived to preserve a one-goal win.
Prior to today's game, at 11 a.m., a statue of the late Fred Shero will be unveiled outside the Spectrum Grille at Xfinity Live. Members of the Broad St. Bullies era Flyers will be on hand, along with Flyers' chairman Ed Snider. Penguins general manager Ray Shero, one of the Hall of Fame coach's two sons, will also be on hand to honor his father.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 3-2-1 after the Olympic break and 8-3-1 over their last 12 games. However, they are winless in their last two games, losing 4-3 in overtime in Toronto and then returning home to drop a 2-1 regulation decision to New Jersey.
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 32-18-7 record over its last 56 matches.
Offense has generally not been a problem for the Flyers since their early-season struggles. Through the first 15 games of the season, the Flyers scored just 22 goals (1.47 per game). Since that time, Philly has tallied 162 goals in 50 games (3.24 per game). However, the Flyers have not gotten a goal from a forward in either of their last games.
One of the less-discussed aspects of the Flyers' scoring depth has been the goal scoring contributions of the team's defensemen. To date, the Flyers' defense corps has combined to chip in 29 goals this season. Kimmo Timonen (two goals) and Braydon Coburn scored in Toronto while a rare tally by Nicklas Grossmann was the lone goal against the Devils.
The Flyers went 0-for-6 on the power play on Tuesday against the NHL's second-ranked penalty kill. The puck movement was good on two of the advantages but they could not finish any scoring chances. On three of the other four, the Devils completely stymied the Flyers.
Today, the Flyers are going up against the NHL's top-ranked penalty kill. The Penguins challenge the passing lanes extremely aggressively, forcing opposing power plays to make split-second decisions. Philly went 2-for-6 on the power play in the two games against Pittsburgh played earlier this season, with a goal apiece in each of the games. Overall, the Penguins have killed off a robust 87.1 percent of their penalties this season.
The Flyers have yielded 22 goals in the six games since the break. That is an unsustainable pace for a team that expects to be a playoff club. Ever since the Olympic break, the Flyers have been prone to one bad period per game. Although many Flyers-Penguins games in recent years have been high-scoring affairs in which no lead is safe for either side, the Flyers are going to have to play better team defense and get slightly -- not dramatically, but slightly -- better goaltending than what has been on display since the Olympics.
Goaltender Ray Emery (groin) has practiced in full each of the last two days. With Cal Heeter having been returned to the Phantoms, Emery is now available for duty. Zac Rinaldo (neck) missed Tuesday's game but is now fine. Chris VandeVelde, who played in Tuesday's game, is now back with Adirondack.
PENGUINS OUTLOOK
Pittsburgh has had its depth tested at times this season due to injuries but Dan Bylsma's club has piled up wins in machine-like fashion. The Pens have points in eight of their last 10 games (6-2-2) coming into the weekend home-and-home against the Flyers.
It was revealed yesterday that sniping winger James Neal will be sidelined indefinitely due to a concussion. Neal, who has a tough season in regard to injuries, rejoins the likes of Pascal Dupuis (right knee surgery), key defensemen Kris Letang (stroke) and Paul Martin (broken hand) and backup goaltender Tomas Vokoun (blood clot in hip) on the list of unavailable Pittsburgh players.
Two players who have not missed a game this season are Crosby (31 goals, 88 points in 65 games) and linemate Chris Kunitz (31 goals, 59 points). Evgeny Malkin (19 goals, 66 points in 54 games) is eager to shake off a disappointing Olympics while forward Jussi Jokinen (17 goals, 46 points) was an astute acquisition by Shero. Rookie defenseman Olli Määttä has been a two-way standout on the blueline, chipping in nine goals and 28 points in addition to playing well in his own end of the ice.
Apart from boasting the NHL's number-one penalty kill, the Penguins also have the league's top power play. The Penguins are the only team in the NHL to have connected on better than one quarter of their chances on the man advantage this season. Taking penalties against the Penguins is playing with fire.
The Penguins are still not a great shutdown defensive team at five-on-five but it scarcely matters most of the time. The team is still potent enough offensively to be decidedly on the positive side of goals for/against ledger at even strength. Their bottom-six forward group is steady if unspectacular. Add that to the aggressive penalty killing and the deadly power play and the Penguins' stellar won-loss record comes into sharp focus.
KEY STAT COMPARISONS (NHL OVERALL RANKING)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.78 (13th), Penguins 3.09 (5th)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.85 (22nd), Penguins 2.42 (6th)
Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.95 (18th), Penguins 1.07 (11th)
Power play efficiency: Flyers 19.4% (12th), Penguins 25.4% (1st)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 83.7% (9th), Penguins 87.1% (1st)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 49.7% (16th), Penguins 51.2% (9th)
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
[29 Ray Emery]
Potential Scratches: Erik Gustafsson (healthy), Jay Rosehill (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
PENGUINS
14 Chris Kunitz - 87 Sidney Crosby - 22 Lee Stempniak
36 Jussi Jokinen - 71 Evgeni Malkin - 49 Brian Gibbons
15 Tanner Glass - 16 Brandon Sutter - 57 Marcel Goc
27 Craig Adams - 46 Joe Vitale - 17 Taylor Pyatt
3 Olli Maatta - 44 Brooks Orpik
4 Rob Scuderi - 2 Matt Niskanen
5 Deryk Engelland - 47 Simon Despres
29 Marc-Andre Fleury
[37 Jeff Zatkoff]
Potential Scratches: Robert Bortuzzo (healthy), James Neal (concussion), Kris Letang (IR, stroke), Paul Martin (IR, broken hand), Tomas Vokoun (IR, blood clot in hip), Beau Bennett (IR, wrist surgery), Chris Connor (IR, hand surgery).
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