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Flyers Gameday: 10/19/17 vs. NSH, Ed Snider Statue Dedication

October 19, 2017, 5:11 AM ET [361 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
UPDATE 6 PM

Jordan Weal is unavailable for tonight's game. Jori Lehterä will make his Flyers' debut in Weal's second-line left wing spot. Matt Read is scratched.

UPDATE 3 PM

The Flyers have recalled Matt Read from the AHL. He has been added to roster below.


UPDATE 10:36 AM

Wayne Simmonds fully participated in the morning skate, and appears good to go for the game. Travis Sanheim will be back in the lineup on defense, paired with Radko Gudas. Michal Neuvirth will start in goal for the second straight game.

GAME 7 PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. PREDATORS

In the third match of a five-game homestand, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (4-2-0) host Peter Laviolette's Nashville Predators (3-2-1) on Thursday night. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSP.

This is the second and final meeting of the season series between the teams, and the lone game in Philadelphia. On Oct. 10 at Bridgstone Arena, the Predators won a bizarre and controversial offensive slugfest, 6-5.

Flyers Outlook

The Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals, 8-2, in the season's home opener last Saturday and then came back with a 5-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday. The team Hakstol's team did not practice on Wednesday.

Sean Couturier, Shayne Gostisbehere (one goal, one assist), Claude Giroux (power play goal) Dale Weise and Valtteri Filppula (empty net, four goals over the last three games) scored for the Flyers. Making his first start in 12 days, Michal Neuvirth was outstanding in Tuesday's game as he turned back 40 of 41 shots to earn his first win of the 2017-18 season.

All-Star right winger Wayne Simmonds left Tuesday's game for what Flyers general manager Ron Hextall deemed "precautionary reasons" with a lower-body injury in the third period. The team said there would be an update on him on Thursday.

Through six games, Gostisbehere (one goal, nine assists) and Voracek (10 assists) share the team scoring lead with 10 points apiece. The Flyers entered the NHL's game slate on Wednesday with the league's second-best goal differential (26 goals, 16 goals against). In the early going of the season, the Flyers have been noted for seemingly upgraded team speed.

To date, the Flyers have scored seven power play goals on 26 opportunities (26.9 percent, 7th in the NHL) and yielded one opposing shorthanded goal in the game. On the penalty kill, Philly is 21-for-25 (76.0 percent, 27th in the NHL) with Scott Laughton (Oct. 14 vs. Washington) having scored the team's lone shorthanded goal to date. At 5-on-5, the Flyers have scored 15 times and yielded seven goals.

In each of the last two games, rookie defenseman Travis Sanheim has been a healthy scratch in favor of veteran Brandon Manning. Thursday's morning skate will reveal which blueliner Hakstol opts for against Nashville.

Predators Outlook

After starting the regular season with back-to-back regulation road losses, the Predators have gone 3-0-1. A team that, like the Flyers, sported a much superior home record compared to their road mark last season, the defending Western Conference champions enter Tuesday's game looking for their first away victory of the season (0-2-1 thus far).

On Tuesday in Nashville, the Predators skated to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. After a scoreless opening period and an early second stanza Nathan MacKinnon power play goal, the Predators struck back for three unanswered goals in the middle frame and then added an additional insurance marker in the early stages of the third period.

Viktor Arvidsson (third goal of the season), Roman Josi (power play goal, one assist), Colton Sissons and Austin Watson tallied for Nashville on Tuesday. Pekka Rinne stopped 20 of 21 shots to earn the win, while the Predators generated 34 shots on Semyon Varlamov. Nashville went 1-for-5 on the power play and 5-for-6 on the penalty kill.

Filip Forsberg leads the Predators in scoring thus far with nine points (five goals, four assists). Ex-Flyer Scott Hartnell, who scored twice against his old club in the previous game in Nashville has scored three goals. Veteran defenseman P.K. Subban has seven points (one empty net goal, six assists) to date. Rinne brings a 2.42 GAA and .919 save percentage into this match.

Through six games, the Predators are 8-for-28 on the power play (28.6 percent, tied for 3rd in the NHL) and have yielded one shorthanded goal. On the penalty kill, they are 23-for-28 (82.1 percent, 12th in the NHL) and have not yet scored while shorthanded. At 5-on-5, Nashville has scored seven times and yielded 10 goals.

Nick Bonino, who scored his first goal as a Predator against the Flyers in his team's home opener, is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury believed to be to his left ankle. Also missing from the lineup are defensemen Ryan Ellis (IR, offseason knee surgery) and Yannick Weber (IR, upper body).

PROJECTED LINEUPS (Tuesday's lines, will be updated after morning skate)

Flyers

28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
15 Jori Lehterä - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 17 Wayne Simmonds
22 Dale Weise - 19 Nolan Patrick - 11 Travis Konecny
20 Taylor Leier - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl

9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 8 Robert Hägg
6 Travis Sanheim- 3 Radko Gudas

30 Michal Neuvirth
[37 Brian Elliott]

Scratches: Jordan Weal (upper body), Brandon Manning (healthy), Matt Read (healthy).

PREDATORS

9 Filip Forsberg - 92 Ryan Johansen - 33 Viktor Arvidsson
17 Scott Hartnell - 19 Calle Jarnkrok - 46 Pontus Åberg
22 Kevin Fiala - 10 Colton Sissons - 15 Craig Smith
55 Cody McLeod - 89 Frederick Gaudreau - 51 Austin Watson

59 Roman Josi - 14 Mattias Ekholm
25 Alexei Emelin - 76 P.K. Subban
52 Matt Irwin - 2 Anthony Bitetto

35 Pekka Rinne
[74 Juuse Saros]

Scratches: Samuel Girard (healthy), Miikka Salomäki (healthy), Nick Bonino (IR, lower body), Ryan Ellis (IR, knee surgery), Yannick Weber (IR, upper body).

************

ED SNIDER STATUE DEDICATION

At 4 p.m. outside the Wells Fargo Center, a nine-foot statue will be unveiled on Thursday in honor of beloved Flyers co-founder and longtime chairman Ed Snider. Along with Mayor Kenney and members of the Snider family, Flyers president Paul Holmgren, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and Comcast executives will be on hand for the statue dedication.

A host of Flyers Alumni, both locally based and ones traveling to Philadelphia to honor Mr. Snider, will be on hand for the statue dedication. Confirmed attendees include Bob Clarke, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent, Mark Howe, Brian Propp, Joe Watson, Jim Watson, Bob Kelly, Dave Schultz, Danny Briere, Kimmo Timonen, Tim Kerr, Dave Brown, Lou Angotti, Keith Primeau, Todd Fedoruk, Bill Clement, Terry Crisp, Terry Carkner, Don Saleski, Orest Kindrachuk, Ed Hospodar, Riley Cote, Brad Marsh, Doug Crossman, Jack McIlhargey, Ross Fitzpatrick, Ray Allison, Rich Sutter, Donna Ashbee (representing Barry), Mitch Lamoreaux, Dave Fenyves, longtime equipment manager Jim "Turk" Evers and longtime Flyers employee Celi Baker.

The statue unveiling ceremony is open to the public and free to attend.
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