GAME 26: FLYERS vs. RED WINGS
In the second game of a 3-in-4 Thanksgiving holiday gauntlet and front end of a home-road set of back-to-back games, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (13-7-5) are home on Friday to host Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (7-17-3). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 4:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised on NBCSP. The radio broadcast will be on 97.5 The Fanatic with an online simulcast on Flyers Radio 24/7.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season, and the lone game in Philadelphia. The teams will rematch at Little Caesar's Arena in Detroit on Feb. 3 and March 26. Last year, the Flyers swept the season series with 3-2 and 6-5 (OT) home wins followed on the back end of a home-and-home with a 3-1 victory.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are 3-0-1 in their last four games with points in nine of the last 11 (6-2-3). Overall, the Flyers are 7-1-4 on home ice this season.
They are coming off a 3-2 win in Columbus that saw the team battle back from a pair of one-goal deficits thanks to goal contributions from two players in the bottom six of the lineup -- fourth-line right winger Tyler Pitlick (2nd) and 3rd line left winger Scott Laughton (1st). On Philly's fifth power play of the game, Claude Giroux (8th) put the Flyers ahead to stay. Brian Elliott made 15 saves in the third period to nail down the win.
Carter Hart will get the start in goal against Detroit, with Elliott slated to start on Saturday afternoon in Montreal. The Flyers had a mostly off-ice day on U.S. Thanksgiving, with only a few players skating. Shayne Gostisbehere has been a healthy scratch in each of the last three games. Vigneault indicated earlier this week that "Ghost" would be back in the lineup soon. However, with the team having picked up seven of eight possible points in the last four games. the coach may not be inclined to change the lineup just yet.
It did not go well the last time the Flyers faced a trap-game scenario of a game against an opponent with a losing record sandwiched in the middle of a three-on-four featuring a divisional opponent at the beginning and a tough challenge at the end. In that segment of games, after the Flyers earned a hard-fought point in a shootout loss against Washington, the Flyers fell on their faces in Ottawa and then were unable to protect a three-goal lead in a shootout loss to the Islanders.
Entering the annual Black Friday matinee, the Flyers have averaged 2.88 goals per game with allowing 2.76 per game. The power play is at 19.8 percent and the penalty kill at 85.9 percent with two shorthanded goals. The team has won faceoffs at a 54.0 percent clip.
RED WINGS OUTLOOK
Any team in the NHL can topple another on a given day. The Flyers learned that lesson the hard way against an improving Ottawa Senators team earlier this month, losing in regulation after Philly had put together a strong run against upper echelon opposition. That cannot happen again with the Flyers still trying to push higher in the standings in a tough Metro Division.
The Red Wings drag a five-game regulation losing streak into Philadelphia, are winless in their last seven games (0-5-2). Entering this game, Detroit has the bottom record and worst overall goal differential (-45) in the NHL. The Red Wings, who are 3-5-2 over their last 10 games, have posted a 3-9-2 record on the road to date.
Detroit has suffered shutout losses in back-to-back games and has only one goal to show for its last 90 minutes of hockey. On Wednesday, the Red Wings hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs and got mauled to the tune of a 6-0 blowout loss and a whopping 54 shots allowed. The debacle started 64 seconds after the opening faceoff with a rebound of a saved shot bouncing into the net off the skate of veteran Red Wings forward Frans Nielsen. Things went straight downhill from there.
Veteran goalie Jimmy Howard stopped 11 of 14 shots before he had to leave the game with what was described as a midsection injury. Jonathan Bernier, originally scheduled to start but who stepped aside due to illness, was pressed into relief duty (37 saves on 40 shots) after the team was unable get its third-string option, ex-Flyer Calvin Pickard, to Detroit in time to dress him as the backup.
Howard is unavailable to accompany the Red Wings to Philadelphia. Pickard has been recalled from the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins to back up Bernier. Oddly enough, the end of Pickard's brief stint with the Flyers last year came about exactly one year ago. On Nov. 29, 2018, the Arizona Coyotes claimed Pickard (4.01 GAA, .863 SV% in 11 appearances as a Flyer) off waivers from Philadelphia.
Earlier this week, the Red Wings learned they'd be without leading scorer Anthony Mantha (12 goals, 23 points) for a few weeks with a lower-body injury. The news could have been worse, as the initial fear was that Mantha would need surgery. Detroit recalled Filip Zadina from the AHL to fill the roster spot vacated by Mantha going on IR. Adam Erne (hand injury) has been skating in practice and is considered day-to-day.
Even before Mantha went down, the Red Wings roster resembled a MASH unit. Justin Abdelkader, Mike Green, Danny DeKeyer and Trevor Daley are all on Injured Reserve. Green joined in his first practice on Tuesday and is getting close to being ready to return.
Entering this game, the Red Wings have averaged 2.19 goals per game and allowed 3.81 per game. The power play comes in at 13.56 percent and the penalty kill at 72.6 percent. The team has won 49.1 percent of their faceoffs.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
28 Claude Giroux - 48 Morgan Frost - 11 Travis Konecny 23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek 21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 49 Joel Farabee 25 James van Riemsdyk - 12 Michael Raffl -18 Tyler Pitlick
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen 6 Travis Sanheim - 61 Justin Braun 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
79 Carter Hart [37 Brian Elliott]
Power Play 1: Giroux, JVR, Frost, Konecny, Provorov Power Play 2: Couturier, Lindblom, Voracek, Sanheim, Niskanen
Scratches: 5 Phil Myers (healthy), 44 Chris Stewart (healthy), 55 Sam Morin (torn ACL) LTIR: 19 Nolan Patrick (migraines)
RED WINGS
59 Tyler Bertuzzi - 71 Dylan Larkin - 14 Robby Fabbri 43 Darren Helm - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 11 Filip Zadina 41 Luke Glendening - 81 Frans Nielsen - 72 Andreas Athanasiou 67 Taro Hirose - 70 Christoffer Ehn - 29 Brendan Perlini …‹
22 Patrik Nemeth - 17 Filip Hronek 52 Jonathan Ericsson - 74 Madison Bowey 21 Dennis Cholowski - 20 Dylan McIlrath…‹
31 Calvin Pickard [45 Jonathan Bernier]
Power Play 1: Zadina, Fabbri, Larkin, Bertuzzi, Cholowski Power Play 2: Perlini, Filppula, Athanasiou, Hronek, Hirose
Scratches: 3 Alex Biega (healthy), 73 Adam Erne (hand, day-to-day), 33 Jimmy Howard (mid-body). Injured reserve: 8 Justin Abdelkader (mid-body), 25 Mike Green (upper body), 39 Anthony Mantha (lower body), 65 Danny DeKeyser (lower body), 83 Trevor Daley (lower body)