Game 22 Preview: Flyers vs. Rangers
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (9-10-2) are home to take on David Quinn's New York Rangers (12-8-2) in the Flyers' annual Black Friday matinee game. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 1:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be nationally televised on NBC. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the first of four meetings this season between the teams. The Flyers and Rangers will rematch at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 23 and Jan. 29 before the season series concludes back in Philadelphia on March 29. Last season, the Flyers went 3-1-0 against the Rangers.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers are in the middle segment of a road-home-road stretch of three games in four nights. After this game, the team will head to Ontario to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday evening.
On Wednesday, an atrocious first period that produced a 4-0 deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Flyers dropped a 5-2 road decision to the Buffalo Sabres. The Flyers dropped to 0-3-1 in their last four games.
Nothing went right for the Flyers in the opening 20 minutes of Wedneday's game. The team's play across the board was subpar. The club's performance picked up over the final 40 minutes and the deficit was cut to 4-2 with many chances to move back within a goal. None were converted and a late empty-netter by Buffalo sealed a three-goal margin.Claude Giroux (8th) and Wayne Simmonds (9th) scored for the Flyers during the second period.
Alex Lyon made his first NHL appearance of the 2018-19 season for the Flyers and struggled with his angles and rebounds in his 20 minutes of work. He took the loss with just eight saves on 12 shots. Cal Pickard was scarcely tested in relief with the Flyers doing most of the attacking once down by four, but denied all eight shots on his net.
On Thursday, the Flyers returned Nicolas Aube-Kubel, who dressed in nine games but hardly saw any ice time in a very limited fourth-line role, to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The team recalled Tyrell Goulbourne, who previously accompanied them on the four-game western road trip through California and Arizona that ended the October schedule and started the November slate but did not dress in any of the games.
Entering Saturday's game, the Flyers have scored 64 goals and allowed 76. The power play comes in at 15.9 percent (T-28th) with the penalty kill at just 68.5 percent (30th).
During the Flyers first 11 games of the season the team yielded the game's first goal 10 times. Philly was 4-7-0 in that span. The Flyers scored first each each of the next six games, and went 5-0-1 in that stretch. The team never trailed at any point in regulation for that entire stretch. Over the last four games, Philly has given up the first goal in every game, and are 0-3-1. The Flyers did not lead at any point of those games.
Rangers Outlook
The Rangers are in the middle game of a home-road-home set of three games in four nights. After this game, the team returns home to host the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon at MSG.
The Blueshirts bring a three-game winning streak into Friday afternoon's games. For the month of November, the supposedly rebuilding Rangers have rattled off a record of 8-1-1. Two of the wins have come via shootout. The team is 9-1-1 since Oct. 30.
On Wednesday, the Rangers shut out the New York Islanders at MSG by a 5-0 count. Alexandar Georgiev recorded his first career NHL shutout (29 saves). Five different Rangers lit the lamp. In the first period, Filip Chytil (5th), Cody McLeod (1st) and Neal Pionk (4th) sent the Rangers to intermission with a 3-0 lead. The gap expanded to 4-0 in the middle frame courtesy of Kevin Hayes (5th). Chris Kreider (12th) added some extra insurance with 3:41 left in the third period. Both Mika Zibanejad (11th and 12th) and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk (6th and 7th) had a pair of assists, while Kreider also assisted on the Chytil goal for a two-point night.
Chytil brings a five-game goal (and point) streak into Friday's game. Kreider has posted at least one point in five of the last six games (5G, 4A). Seven points (4G, 3A) have come over the last four games.
On the injury front, veteran playmaking forward Mats Zuccarello is day-to-day with a groin issue. He has missed each of the last three games. Both veteran defenseman Adam McQuaid (lower body) and forward Pavel Buchnevich (broken thumb) remain on the injured reserve list and are presently unavailable.
To date, the Rangers have scored 64 goals and allowed 65. The power play comes in at 20.8 percent (T-14th) and the penalty kill is at 77.0 percent success (22nd) with three shorthanded goals scored.
The Flyers, who were scored on four straight times on the penalty kill between their 2nd PK of last Saturday's game against Tampa and their first PK of Wednesday's game in Buffalo will have to contend with a red-hot Rangers power play in this game. The Rangers have scored at least one power play goal in four of the last five games (5-for-17, 29.4%) and in five of the last seven games (7-for-23, 30.4%). For the season, the Flyers have already yielded a whopping 23 opposing power play goals in just 21 games.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 11 Travis Konecny 22 Dale Weise - 19 Nolan Patrick - 93 Jakub Voracek 25 James van Riemsdyk - 40 Jordan Weal - 17 Wayne Simmonds 23 Oskar Lindblom - 21 Scott Laughton- 39 Tyrell Goulbourne
9 Ivan Provorov - 8 Robert Hà¤gg 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 26 Christian Folin 6 Travis Sanheim - 3 Radko Gudas
33 Cal Pickard [34 Alex Lyon]
Scratches: 47 Andrew MacDonald (healthy), 15 Jori Lehterठ(healthy), 37 Brian Elliott (lower body), 30 Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body), 12 Michael Raffl (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
RANGERS
20 Chris Kreider - 13 Kevin Hayes - 72 Filip Chytil 90 Vladislav Namestnikov - 93 Mika Zibanejad - 36 Mats Zuccarello (?) 26 Jimmy Vesey - 21 Brett Howden - 16 Ryan Strome 17 Jesper Fast - 50 Lias Andersson - 38 Steven Fogarty…‹
18 Marc Staal - 44 Neal Pionk 33 Fredrik Claesson - 22 Kevin Shattenkirk 76 Brady Skjei - 77 Anthony DeAngelo…‹
30 Henrik Lundqvist [40 Alexandar Georgiev…‹]
Scratches: 36 Mats Zuccarello (day-to-day, groin), 42 Brendan Smith (healthy), 8 Cody McLeod (hand fracture), 54 Adam McQuaid (IR, lower body), 89 Pavel Buchnevich (IR, broken thumb).