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Flyers Gameday: 1/25/16 vs. BOS |
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PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. BRUINS
With two games left to play before the NHL All-Star Break, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (20-17-8) play host on Monday to Claude Julien's Boston Bruins (25-17-5). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia.
This is the third and final meeting between the teams this season, and the second in Philadelphia. On Oct. 21 at TD Garden, the Flyers staged a comeback 5-4 win in overtime after trailing 4-2 after two periods. On Jan. 13 in Philadelphia, the Flyers trailed 2-1 after two periods and then came back to win 4-3 in regulation.
Due the blizzard-related cancellation of Saturday night's game against the Islanders in Brooklyn, the Flyers would up getting an extra night off and some extra practice time after having played four games in the previous six nights. The Flyers last played on Thursday in Pittsburgh but made the trip to Brooklyn and were at the arena at the time the game was canceled. The team practiced at Barclays Center on Saturday and at the Skate Zone in Voorhees, NJ, on Sunday.
The Bruins last played on Saturday night. Boston played the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets to a 2-2 tie through 65 minutes and then prevailed via shootout. Monday's game is the middle segment of a three-in-four and the front end of a back-to-back for the Bruins. On Tuesday, the team will host the Anaheim Ducks.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers are 5-2-1 over their last eight games but have lost back-to-back games in regulation and were outplayed for long stretches of both games. After starting the season 5-8-3, the Flyers have gone 15-9-5. In each of the last five games, they have trailed by one goal entering the third period. The team pulled off three straight succesful comebacks to earn one or two points but narrowly fell short of that goal in each of the last two games.
Hakstol indicated after practice on Sunday that the team will likely feature some lineup tweaks on Monday. Sean Couturier did not practice on Sunday and is doubtful for the game against Boston. Sam Gagner was recalled on Thursday to substitute at center on Couturier's line. He continued to practice on the second line on Sunday. Officially, Couturier remains day-to-day. Any lineup change(s) are likely to be made elsewhere.
Lineup projections will be updated after Monday's morning skate. However, based on reported first rep combos at Sunday's practice, Jordan Weal might make his Flyers debut in place of R.J. Umberger. Defenseman Brandon Manning could return to the lineup in place of Evgeny Medvedev.
After a slow start to the season, Jakub Voracek has finally hit a groove over the last month. He has at least one point in 13 of his last 16 games. In that span, the Czech forward has compiled 18 points (five goals, 13 assists). The injured Couturier has 14 points in his last 14 games.
Team captain Claude Giroux leads the Flyers with 14 goals, 23 assists and 37 points in 45 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Voracek (six goals, 27 assists, 33 points), Wayne Simmonds (12 goals, 14 assists, 26 points, 86 penalty minutes), and Brayden Schenn (11 goals, 13 assists, 24 points). Couturier rounds out the top five with nine goals, 13 assists and 22 points. Rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has contributed eight goals (four on the power play, three in overtime), 11 assists and 19 points in 27 games.
Steve Mason has appeared in 29 games, posting a 10-12-6 record, 2.72 goals against average, .914 save percentage and three shutouts (four regulation shutouts). Michal Neuvirth has appeared in 19 games, posting a 10-5-2 record, 2.05 GAA, .936 save percentage and three shutouts.
Bruins Outlook
The Bruins are 5-5-1 in the month of January. For the season, they have actually been a better road team (14-5-3) than home (11-12-3) but one their regulation losses this month was the blown third period lead against the Flyers.
The last time the teams played, Boston was missing key offensive catalyst (and regular Flyer-killer) David Krejci from the lineup. The center returned last game and registered an assist on his team's 3-2 home shootout win over Columbus. The Bruins got goals from Brad Marchand and young forward David Pastrnak. Backup netminder Jonas Gustavsson got the call in goal and "the Monster" turned back 31 of 33 shots in regulation and OT and then went 2-for-2 in the shootout. The Bruins went 2-for-3 as Ryan Spooner and Torey Krug sandwiched successful attempts around a Patrice Bergeron miss.
The Bruins remain among the best special teams clubs in the NHL. Their 111.9 special teams index number (26 percent power play plus 86.9 percent penalty kill) is second-best in the NHL only to the Washington Capitals' 112.0 combined special teams number.
Perennial Selke Trophy candidate Bergeron leads the Bruins in scoring as well, posting 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) and a plus-10 at even strength in 47 games. He is followed by resurgent two-way veteran forward Loui Eriksson (15 goals, 24 assists, 39 points), Spooner (10 goals, 25 assists, 35 points), Krejci (11 goals, 23 assists, 34 points in 37 games), agitating and sometimes controversial forward Marchand (19 goals, 12 assists, 31 points, plus-13), ageless defenseman Zdeno Chara (six goals, 18 assists, 24 points) and forward Jimmy Hayes (11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points).
Former Vezina Trophy winner Tuukka Rask has appeared in 34 games, posting a 16-14-4 record, 2.47 goals against average, .917 save percentage and four shutouts. Gustavsson had played in 14 games, posting a 9-3-1 record, 2.29 goals against average and .917 save percentage.
The Bruins are still missing defenseman Adam McQuaid (concussion) and veteran forward Chris Kelly (broken femur) from the lineup. Both players remain on injured reserve.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.24 (28th), Bruins 2.96 (3rd)
Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.60 (T-15th), Bruins 2.60 (T-15th)
5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 63/67, Bruins 92/83
Power play efficiency: Flyers 17.1% (T-22nd), Bruins 26.0% (2nd)
Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 78.4% (25th), Bruins 84.9% (T-5th)
Shots per game: Flyers 30.3 (T-11th), Bruins 31.4 (5th)
Shots against per game: Flyers 32.4 (29th), Bruins 29.3 (13th)
Faceoff percentage: Flyers 49.8% (T-18th), Bruins 50.4% (T-9th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
93 Jakub Voracek - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 12 Michael Raffl - 10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White
19 Jordan Weal - 21 Scott Laughton - 20 R.J. Umberger
15 Michael Del Zotto - 3 Radko Gudas
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
30 Michal Neuvirth
[35 Steve Mason]
Scratches: Evgeny Medvedev (healthy), Sam Gagner (healthy), Sean Couturier (day-to-day, lower body).
Bruins
21 Loui Eriksson - 46 David Krejci - 88 David Pastrnak
63 Brad Marchand - 37 Patrice Bergeron - 51 Ryan Spooner
39 Matt Beleskey - 41 Joonas Kemppainen - 11 Jimmy Hayes
36 Zac Rinaldo - 25 Max Talbot - 29 Landon Ferraro
33 Zdeno Chara - 62 Zach Trotman
45 Joe Morrow - 44 Dennis Seidenberg
47 Torey Krug - 86 Kevan Miller
40 Tuukka Rask
[50 Jonas Gustavsson]
Scratches:Brett Connolly (healthy), Tyler Randell (healthy), Colin Miller (healthy), Adam McQuaid (IR, concussion), Chris Kelly (IR, broken femur).
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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