UPDATE 1:30 PM EST
Ilya Bryzgalov will start in goal for the Flyers tonight.
PREVIEW 6:20 AM EST
In the second match of their four-game western road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers (33-19-7) will make their first visit to Rexall Place in two calendar years as they take on the Edmonton Oilers (23-30-6). The game starts at 9:30 PM EST and will be broadcast locally on CSN Philly.
This is the first and only meeting of the season between the teams. Last year, Philly took a 4-1 decision on home ice, roaring out to a 3-0 on an early Danny Briere goal and a pair of tallies by Jeff Carter. Blair Betts added a late empty-net goal, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves for the win.
In the Flyers' last visit to Edmonton (Feb. 3, 2010), the game was scoreless for 59 minutes and 43 seconds. Finally, former Flyer Ryan Potulny scored a power play goal (Darroll Powe committed a careless high-sticking penalty with 1:50 remaining in regulation) to give the Oilers a 1-0 win. Jeff Deslauriers stopped all 33 Philadelphia shots while Michael Leighton made 26 saves in a losing cause.
The Flyers enter tonight's game looking for their first back-to-back wins since January 10 and 12 (at Carolina and Long Island). On Tuesday night in Winnipeg, Philly rallied back from three separate one goal deficits and tied the game with 10 seconds left in the third period before winning it in OT.
Jaromir Jagr scored his NHL record-setting 16th regular season overtime goal to cap off the win over the Jets after Wayne Simmonds notched the tying goal. Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell (PPG) also did scoring honors for Philly, which peppered Ondrej Pavelec with 55 shots (including 10 by Giroux). On the downside, the Flyers yielded three power play goals to Winnipeg on three tries (and only three shots) and Ilya Bryzgalov had another uneven performance in goal for the club.
As is his practice, Peter Laviolette has not publicly announced a starting goaltender for tonight's game. Bryzgalov closed out Tuesday's game strong after allowing a terrible go-ahead goal in the third period and looking shaky at times in the first two periods. Bobrovsky has also struggled of late but figures to get one start during the current road trip. With Nikolai Khabibulin (groin pull) still on the sidelines for Edmonton, Devan Dubnyk may get the call again tonight.
While the Oilers remain a young team that is prone to careless mistakes, they are building a formidable nucleus of talent and have plenty of speed. The outstanding ice surface in their home rink often works to the Oilers' benefit, where they have gained points in 19 of 29 games (15-10-4) as opposed to their dreadful road record of 8-22-2.
Philly had better get its penalty killing back in gear tonight. The Flyers have slipped to 21st in the league with an 81.0 percent success ratio. The Oilers enter tonight's game with a formidable 21.0 percent efficiency mark on the power play, good for 4th overall in the NHL (the Flyers are 5th at 20.2 percent). Edmonton's 23.6 percent power play success at home is third in the league.
On the penalty kill, the Oilers are slightly higher than the middle of the pack, ranking 13th overall with an 83.2 percent success mark (81.6 percent at home).
Edmonton comes into this game on a high, having crushed the arch-rival Calgary Flames by a 6-1 count on Tuesday night, chasing Miikka Kiprusoff from the net after two periods and outshooting the Flames by a 42-22 mark. The Oilers are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games.
In the game against the Flames, the scorching hot Sam Gagner (9 goals, 9 asssists in his last 9 games) tallied for the Oilers, as did Jordan Eberle, Ales Hemsky, Eric Belanger, Ryan Smyth and Taylor Hall. Dubnyk made 21 saves for the easy win.
On the injury front, the Flyers have a complete lineup minus their players on long-term injured reserve who are lost for the season. For Edmonton, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (shoulder) is on IR, along with Theo Peckham (face) and Taylor Fedun (broken femur).
PROJECTED LINEUPS
FLYERS
Hartnell - Giroux - Simmonds
Read - Briere - Jagr
JVR - Schenn - Voracek
Talbot - Couturier - Rinaldo
Timonen - Coburn
Carle - Kubina
Grossman - Meszaros
Bryzgalov/Bobrovsky
OILERS
Smyth - Gagner - Eberle
Hall - Horcoff - Hemsky
Eager - Belanger - Pääjärvi
Hordichuk - Lander - Petrell
Smid - Petry
Whitney - Potter
Sutton - Gilbert
Dubnyk
[Danis]
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