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Flyers Gameday: 11/21/17 vs. VAN |
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GAME 21 PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. CANUCKS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (8-8-4) return to action on Tueday to take on Travis Green's Vancouver Canucks (9-8-3). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NBCSP.
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The clubs will rematch in Vancouver on Dec. 7. The Flyers swept the 2016-17 season series with a 5-4 shootout win at home (Jan. 12, 2017) and a 3-2 road victory (Feb. 19, 2017).
FLYERS OUTLOOK
Tuesday's game is the start of a very busy holiday week stretch that will see the Flyers play three games in the next four nights and five times in eight nights. The Flyers, who respectively posted 53, 54, and 55 points on home ice in each of the least three seasons, are behind that so far with a 4-3-3 home record through 10 games at the Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia enters this game coming off a 5-4 overtime home loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers held leads of 1-0, 3-1 and 4-3 but were their own worst enemies with a series of undisciplined penalties that came back to bite them.
The Flyers had been in a good penalty killing groove coming into this game, killing 14 of the last 15 disadvantages and 20 of 24 (83.3 percent) overall for the month of November. That went by the wayside in the second period, though, as Calgary's Sean Monahan struck three times on a deflection, a rebound and a snipe from the slot. Overall, Calgary went 3-for-5.
Brandon Manning (third goal of the season), Sean Couturier (power play, 12th), Ivan Provorov (3rd) and Nolan Patrick (2nd) scored for the Flyers. Jakub Voracek collected his 19th and 20th assists of the campaign in the season's 20th game. Brian Elliott played better than his stat line of 26 saves on 31 shots would suggest.
Defenseman Radko Gudas was suspended for 10 games by the National Hockey for a slashing incident with the Winnipeg Jets' Mathieu Perrault. He has nine additional games to serve after being ineligible to play in Saturday's game.
Jordan Weal missed Saturday's game with an upper-body injury. At the Flyers' practice on Monday, Weal pronounced himself ready to go for Tuesday's tilt. He will replace Dale Weise on Patrick's line against the Canucks. Weise will be a healthy scratch for the fourth time this season.
The Flyers placed veteran forward Matt Read on waivers on Monday. Assuming he clears,he is eligible to be reassigned to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. However, the Flyers are not obligated to immediately do so.
Andrew MacDonald (IR, lower body) be ready to return to the Flyers lineup by the end of this week. He is not ready to play in Tuesday's game.
Through 20 games, Jakub Voracek (five goals, 20 assists, 25 points) leads the team in scoring, followed by linemates Couturier (12 goals, 10 assists, 22 points, +13) and Claude Giroux (nine goals, 12 assists, 21 points). The Flyers are still looking for goal-scoring production from forwards who do not skate on the top five-on-five line.
Wayne Simmonds is now 12 games removed from his last goal. Travis Konecny (two goals, seven points overall) has gone 10 games since the last time he scored a goal. Weal (two goals, six points) last scored eight games ago and has gone pointless in 10 of his last 12 games. Valtteri Filppula (six goals, 10 points) is goalless in his last six games with just one goal over the last 10.
In goal, Elliott has posted a 6-5-3 record, 2.70 GAA and .907 save percentage. Michal Neuvirth has made six appearances to date, going 2-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA, .928 SV% and one shutout.
The Flyers have gone 13-for-69 (18.8 percent, tied for 17th overall) on the power play, while yielding three opposing shorthanded goals. The club is 56-for-72 (77.8 pct, 24th overall) on the penalty kill with one shorthanded goal by Scott Laughton.
Overall, the Flyers have scored 56 goals and yielded 54. In five-on-five play, the team has scored 34 goals while yielding an NHL-lowest 26.
CANUCKS OUTLOOK
The Canucks are playing the first match of a six-game road trip that will take the team through the remainder of November. This is the first game of three-in-four, four-in-six stretch. For the month of November, Vancouver is 3-5-1 to date.
Vancouver last played on Saturday. The club earned a point against the powerhouse St. Louis Blues but lost on home in overtime, 4-3. The Canucks have actually been better on the road (6-3-0) so far than at home (3-5-3).
Brock Boeser leads the Canucks in scoring with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 17 games. He is followed by Bo Horvat (eight goals, eight assists, 16 points in 20 games), veteran winger Thomas Vanek (five goals, seven assists, 12 points), Derek Dorsett (seven goals, two assists, nine points, 74 PIM), Daniel Sedin (three goals, five assists, eight points), and Henrik Sedin (two goals, five assists, seven points).
Former Flyers defenseman Michael Del Zotto has dressed in all 20 games for the Canucks this season, posting one goal, six assists, seven points and a minus-10 rating. Sam Gagner has six points (two goals, four assists) in 20 games.
In goal, Jacob Markström has played in 15 games (14 starts), posting a 5-7-2 record, 2.63 GAA and .910 save percentage. Countryman Anders Nilsson has made six starts, posting a 4-1-1 record, 2.30 GAA, .929 save percentage and two shutouts.
On the power play, Vancouver has gone 18-for-30 (16.3 pct, 24th overall) and given up an NHL-worst five opposing shorthanded goals. On the penalty kill, the Canucks are 58-for-73 (79.8 percent, 18th overall) with two shorthanded goals by Derek Dorsett and one from Markus Granlund.
The Canucks have scored 51 goals overall this season while yielding 56. At 5-on-5, the has scored 33 times and given up 30 (2nd fewest in the NHL).
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Flyers
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek
40 Jordan Weal - 19 Nolan Patrick - 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 11 Travis Konecny
20 Taylor Leier - 21 Scott Laughton - 15 Jori Lehterä
9 Ivan Provorov - 8 Robert Hägg
23 Brandon Manning - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
6 Travis Sanheim - 39 Mark Alt
30 Michal Neuvirth
[37 Brian Elliott]
Scratches: Dale Weise (healthy), Andrew MacDonald (IR, lower body), Radko Gudas (NHL suspension, game 2 of 10), Matt Read (on waivers, could be assigned to AHL).
CANUCKS
47 Sven Baertschi - 53 Bo Horvat - 6 Brock Boeser
22 Daniel Sedin - 33 Henrik Sedin - 18 Jake Virtanen
26 Thomas Vanek - 89 Sam Gagner - 21 Loui Eriksson
60 Markus Granlund - 20 Brandon Sutter - 15 Derek Dorsett
23 Alexander Edler - 5 Derrick Pouliot
4 Michael Del Zotto - 55 Alex Biega
27 Ben Hutton - 44 Erik Gudbranson
25 Jacob Markström / 31 Anders Nilsson
Scratches:Patrick Wiercioch (healthy), Brendan Gaunce (healthy), Alexander Burmistrov (healthy), Troy Stecher (IR, leg), Chris Tanev (IR, upper body).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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