Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Flyers Gameday: 11/14/17 @ MIN

November 14, 2017, 8:12 AM ET [526 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
GAME 18 PREVIEW: FLYERS @ WILD

In the back end of a home-and-home set, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (8-7-2) are in St. Paul on Tuesday to take on Bruce Boudreau's Minnesota Wild (7-7-2). Game time at Xcel Energy Center is 8:00 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on NBCSP+.

This is the second and final meeting between the inter-conference teams this season. On Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, the game was scoreless for two periods before a friendly carom off the end boards went to red-hot Jason Zucker for the only goal scored in Minnesota's 1-0 win.

Devan Dubnyk recorded a 32-save shutout for the Wild; the fourth time the Flyers have been shut out in the season's first 17 games. Brian Elliott played well in a losing cause for the Flyers, turning aside 26 of 27 Wild shots.

FLYERS OUTLOOK

The Flyers bring a 4-4-0 road record in Tuesday's tilt. The two-game road trip will conclude in Winnipeg on Thursday night.

Looking for scoring beyond the top line trio of Sean Couturier, Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, the Flyers juggled two forward line combinations at practice on Monday. Jordan Weal moved from left wing to center, and will play on the second line with Dale Weise and Wayne Simmonds. Jori Lehterä shifted from center to left wing and will play on a line with Valtteri Filppula and Travis Konecny.

On the injury front, rookie center Nolan Patrick officially remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury widely suspected to be a concussion sustained on Oct. 24. He participated in practice on Monday and is with the team on the road trip. The Manitoba native could return to the lineup on Thursday against the Jets. Veteran defenseman Andrew MacDonald (lower-body injury) may begin skating this week while rehabbing a knee injury incurred while blocking a shot against the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 21.

Through 17 games, Voracek (four goals, 17 assists, 21 points) leads the team in scoring, followed by linemates Giroux (nine goals, 11 assists, 20 points) and Couturier (10 goals, nine assists, 19 points, +14). Shayne Gostisbehere leads the defense with 15 points (one goal, 14 assists).

Goalless with two assists over his last nine games, Wayne Simmonds has scored six goals among his 11 points. Three of his goals came on opening night. The alternate captain shares the team power play goal lead with three along with Valtteri Filppula (six goals, three assists, nine points overall). Konecny, has had a slew of scoring chances over the past few games but just one assist to show for it. Overall, Konecny is sitting on seven points (two goals, five assists) after 17 games.

Elliott appears to be the likely starting goalie again on Tuesday. In 11 games to date, he has posted a 6-4-1 record, 2.73 GAA and .908 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth has made six appearances to date, going 2-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout.

Philly made a roster move for the road trip. Mark Alt has been recalled from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to serve as a seventh defenseman.

The Flyers enter Tuesday's game in 1-for-16 slump on the power play over the last five games. Overall, the team has gone 11-for-59 (18.6 percent, tied for 15th overall) on the power play, while yielding three opposing shorthanded goals. The club is 44-for-56 (78.6 pct, tied for 22nd overall) on the penalty kill with one shorthanded goal by Scott Laughton.

Overall, the Flyers have scored 50 goals and yielded 44. In five-on-five play, the team has scored 30 goals while yielding 24.

WILD OUTLOOK

Zucker has scored each of the last six goals, dating back to the Toronto game and then a natural hat trick against Montreal. The NHL record is seven; co-held by Ottawa's Cy Denneny (1920-21) and Chicago's Brian Noonan (1991-92). For the season, Zucker leads the Wild with nine goals and 14 points in 16 games.

Dubnyk has recorded back-to-back shutouts: a 41-save blanking of the Canadiens and the 32-save shutout of the Flyers. For the season, he has posted a 6-6-0 record, 2.55 GAA and .920 save percentage.

Minnesota was one of the NHL's most injury-riddled teams over the first month of this season. The team has some of its personnel back now but will still be without Zach Parise (back surgery for a herniated disc) for many weeks to come. Additionally, Charlie Coyle (broken right fibula) remains on IR.

Two key Wild players who have spent time on IR this season and are off to relatively slow starts offensively: Mikael Granlund (11 games, one goal, four assists, five points, -4) and Nino Niederreiter (10 games, two goals, three assists).

Eric Staal is second on the Wild with 12 points (five goals, seven assists). Veteran blueliner Ryan Suter leads the blueline with 10 points (two goals, eight assists, -4). Rounding out the team scoring leaders are Jared Spurgeon (two goals, eight assists, 10 points), Chris Stewart (six goals, two assists) and team captain Mikko Koivu (four goals, four assists).

The Wild enter Tuesday's game 8-for-51 (15.7 percent, ranked 21st) on the power play and have yet to allow a shorthanded goal. On the penalty kill, they are 49-for-58 (84.5 percent, ranked 7th) with an NHL-best four shorthanded goals: two by Staal, one each for Zucker and 2016 first-round pick Luke Kunin.

Overall, the Wild have scored 46 goals and given up 43. At five-on-five the club has tallied 28 times but yielded 28 to the opposition. Last season, the Wild scored the most goals in the NHL at five-on-five (187, two more than Pittsburgh) and yielded 148 for a plus-39 differential.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (will be updated after morning skate)

Flyers

28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
22 Dale Weise - 40 Jordan Weal - 17 Wayne Simmonds
15 Jori Lehterä - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 11 Travis Konecny
20 Taylor Leier - 21 Scott Laughton - 12 Michael Raffl

9 Ivan Provorov - 8 Robert Hägg
23 Brandon Manning - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim - 3 Radko Gudas

37 Brian Elliott
[30 Michal Neuvirth]

Scratches: Matt Read (healthy), Mark Alt (healthy), Nolan Patrick (IR, upper body), Andrew MacDonald (IR, lower body).


Wild

22 Nino Niederreiter - 12 Eric Staal - 16 Jason Zucker
63 Tyler Ennis - 9 Mikko Koivu - 64 Mikael Granlund
26 Daniel Winnik - 14 Joel Eriksson Ek - 19 Luke Kunin
17 Marcus Foligno - 7 Matt Cullen - 10 Chris Stewart​

20 Ryan Suter - 46 Jared Spurgeon
25 Jonas Brodin - 24 Mathew Dumba
27 Kyle Quincey - 4 Mike Reilly​

40 Devan Dubnyk
[32 Alex Stalock]

Scratches: Gustav Olofsson (healthy), Niklas Svedberg (healthy), Zach Parise (IR, back surgery), Charlie Coyle (IR, fibula).
Join the Discussion: » 526 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Bill Meltzer
» Flyers Gameday: 3/28/24 @ MTL
» Wrap: Flyers Lose 6-5 OT Game to Rangers
» Flyers Gameday: 3/26/24 @ NYR
» Quick Hits: Flyers-FLA Wrap, Flyers Daily, Phantoms, Bigger than Hockey
» Flyers Gameday: 3/24/2024 vs. FLA; Phantoms Update