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Flyers Gameday: 1/24/12 @ Panthers

January 24, 2012, 6:30 AM ET [1306 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
PREVIEW 6:00 AM EST

In their final game before the NHL All-Star break, the Flyers (28-14-5) will travel to Sunrise, FL to take on the Florida Panthers (22-15-10). Tonight's game starts at 7:30 PM EST and will be broadcast locally on CSN Philly.

The game marks the second of four meetings between the teams this season, and the final one in the Sunshine State. On Nov. 13, the Flyers prevailed, 3-2, behind 31 saves from Ilya Bryzgalov and goals by Danny Briere, Braydon Coburn, and Matt Read (penalty shot after a shorthanded breakaway).

Philly's regulation win snapped a 4-0-2 streak for Florida, which was coming off impressive road wins in Toronto and Winnipeg and entered the game clicking on the power play at a 24.1 percent success rate. Philly blanked Kevin Dineen's club on seven power play opportunities, including a four-minute advantage on a Max Talbot high sticking infraction. Evgeny Dadonov and Tomas Fleischmann scored even strength goals for Florida, while goalie Jose Theodore stopped 32 shots in a losing cause.

Entering tonight's game the Flyers remain undermanned, playing without skilled forwards Briere (concussion), Jaromir Jagr (groin pull) and James van Riemsdyk (concussion). Over the weekend, the Flyers gritted out a regulation victory in New Jersey and then battled the Boston Bruins to a 5-5 deadlock before the Bruins prevailed in a shootout.

Scott Hartnell, who scored two goals in the Devils game, electrified the Wells Fargo Center with a natural hat trick in the second period of Sunday's game against the Bruins. Talbot also chipped in a pair of goals on an intended pass than bounced into the net and his own tip-in of a Matt Carle shot.

In addition to aforementioned trio of injured players, the Flyers remain without Zac Rinaldo (IR, neck). The team is likely to use the same lineup as Sunday.

Florida, meanwhile, has won just three of its last 10 games (3-4-3) but is coming off a 4-3 win over Winnipeg on Sunday. Ex-Flyers forward Kris Versteeg had a huge game, with two goals and an assist. On the injury front, both Ed Jovanovski (broken hand) and Dmitry Kulikov (undisclosed) will be missing from the Panthers' blueline tonight.

PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)

FLYERS

Hartnell - Giroux - Schenn
Read - Couturier - Simmonds
Sestito - Talbot - Voracek
Zolnierczyk - Holmstrom - Shelley

Timonen - Coburn
Carle - Bourdon
Gustafsson - Meszaros

Bryzgalov/Bobrovsky


PANTHERS

Fleischmann - Weiss - Versteeg
Samuelsson - Goc - Kopecky
Upshall - Mattias - Bradley
Barch - Santorelli - Bergenheim

Garrison - Campbell
Strachan - Gudbranson
Ellerby - Weaver

Theodore/Clemmensen

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