GAME 34 PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. RED WINGS
Playing their final home game of the 2017 calendar year, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (14-12-7) host Jeff Blashill's Detroit Red Wings (12-13-7) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on NBC Sports Network as a Wednesday Night Rivalry broadcast.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season, and the lone game in Philadelphia. The clubs will rematch in Detroit on Jan. 23 and March 20; the Flyers' first-ever games at the brand new Little Caesar's Arena.
Last season, all three games between the Flyers and Red Wings went to overtime.
On Nov. 2, 2016 at the Wells Fargo Center, Jakub Voracek's overtime goal at 1:41 capped a Flyers 4-3 comeback win that saw Mark Streit score with 1:04 remaining in regulation to force OT. Six nights later in Detroit, Steve Mason cranked out a 33-save performance but the Flyers fell via shootout, 3-2, as Andreas Athanasiou scored both in regulation and the lone successful attempt for either team in the skills competition. On Dec. 11, Anthony Stolarz the first shutout of his NHL career as Brayden Schenn scored at 2:44 of overtime to give the Flyers a 1-0 win.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
This match is the final one of a five-game homestand. The Flyers won the first three games before suffering a 4-1 setback on Monday to the LA Kings that ended Philly's six-game winning streak. Overall, the Flyers are an unimpressive 7-7-4 at home to date this season after respectively posting 53, 54 and 55 points at home in 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17.
On Monday, Brian Elliott had a subpar night after weeks of consistently strong games. Jakub Voracek's power play goal was the lone Flyers' tally. The Kings were more opportunistic and outplayed the Flyers at 5-on-5. Philly had entered the game with the fewest 5-on-5 goals against in the NHL but yielded four of them to LA.
Voracek leads all NHL players with 33 assists, and is tied for fifth in the Art Ross Trophy race with 41 points. Shayne Gostisbehere ranks 4th among defensemen with 25 points despite playing just 30 games to date. Claude Giroux (13 goals, 36 points) is tied for 15th in the Art Ross Trophy Race.
Apart from a one-goal, one assist game against Toronto, Sean Couturier has not scored much of late since the Flyers made the lineup change to put Wayne Simmonds on the top line and Voracek on a trio with Valtteri Filppula and Michael Raffl. Couturier has continued to play a high caliber of two-way hockey and has had scoring chances but is pointless in four of his last five games.
At the Skate Zone in Voorhees on Tuesday, backup goaltender Michal Neuvirth put in his first full day practice since recovering from a lower body injury. He is close to being ready to be activated from the injured reserve list. Second-year pro goalie Alex Lyon will remain with the NHL team until Neuvirth is cleared.
Veteran defenseman Brandon Manning (right hand injury) remains on injured reserve. He skated on his own prior to practice on Tuesday, handling and passing pucks but not yet shooting.
Entering Wednesday's game, the Flyers have scored 92 goals and also yielded 92. At five-on-five, Philly has scored just 58 goals (24th in the NHL) but their 50 goals against still ranks atop the NHL despite the bad night against LA.
On the power play, the Flyers rank 16th at 19.3 percent (22-for-114) with four shorthanded goals against. LA's third goal on Monday came a couple of seconds after a Kings penalty, and was a 5-on-5 tally.
The Flyers have played a much more disciplined brand of hockey of late. In each of the last eight games, they have taken two or fewer penalties that left them shorthanded. On the PK, the Flyers are still ranked near the bottom of the NHL at 77.3 percent success (82-for-106, 27th overall). Scott Laughton's shorthanded goal against the Washington Capitals in the Flyers' home opener is Philly's only one of the season to date.
RED WINGS OUTLOOK
The Red Wings have won back-to-back games as they head into Philadelphia. The club is on the second half of back-to-back games. Trailing 3-2 in the second period, Detroit struck back for four unanswered goals to earn a 6-3 road win against the New York Islanders on Tuesday night.
Martin Frk (7th), Gustav Nyquist (9th), Anthony Mantha (13th), Trevor Daley (2nd), Mike Green (3rd), and Luke Glendening (empty net, 7th) scored for the Red Wings. Henrik Zetterberg collected three apples (16th, 17th and 18th assists of the season), while Dylan Larkin chipped in his 20th, 21st and 22nd assists. Petr Mrazek stopped 34 of 37 shots to earn the win.
Prior to the back-to-back wins, Detroit had been in a 1-4-3 tailspin over its previous eight games. Overall, the Red Wings are 7-7-1 on the road for the season. Wednesay's game is the second of a four-game road trip that wraps around the leaguewide Christmas break.
Entering Wednesday's game, speedy forward Larkin (five goals, 22 assists, 27 points) leads the Red Wings in scoring. Mantha, who has taken heat for undisciplined play, is second with 23 points and leads the club with 13 goals (five on the power play). The 37-year-old Zetterberg is third on the club with 23 points.
Veteran netminder Jimmy Howard has made 25 starts and two relief appearances. For the season, he is 10-9-6 with a 2.83 GAA and .908 save percentage. Mrazek, who was unprotected in the expansion draft and the subject of trade rumors, has made eight starts and three relief appearances. He is 3-4-1 with a 3.64 GAA, .892 save percentage and one shutout.
To date, the Red Wings have scored 90 goals and yielded 105. At five-on-five, Detroit has scored 57 goals (ranked 25th) and given up 69 (tied for 25th).
On the power play, the Wings are still a potent team at 21.3 percent (22-for-103, ranked 8th) but have allowed three shorthanded goals. The Detroit penalty kill had some issues against the Islanders' seventh-ranked power play in Tuesday's game, and enters Wednesday's game ranked 15th (85-for-114, 81.6 percent). The Red Wings are tied for the NHL high with six shorthanded goals scored to date: two by Larkin and one apiece for Frans Nielsen, Darren Helm, Glendening and Daley.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
Flyers
28 Claude Giroux - 14 Sean Couturier - 17 Wayne Simmonds 12 Michael Raffl - 51 Valtteri Filppula - 93 Jakub Voracek 40 Jordan Weal - 19 Nolan Patrick - 22 Dale Weise 15 Jori Lehterठ- 21 Scott Laughton - 11 Travis Konecny
9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 8 Robert Hà¤gg 6 Travis Sanheim - 3 Radko Gudas
37 Brian Elliott [49 Alex Lyon]
Scratches: Taylor Leier (upper body), Mark Alt (healthy), Brandon Manning (IR, right hand), Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body).
Red Wings
14 Gustav Nyquist - 40 Henrik Zetterberg - 8 Justin Abdelkader 21 Tomas Tatar - 71 Dylan Larkin - 72 Andreas Athanasiou 43 Darren Helm - 51 Frans Nielsen - 41 Luke Glendening 39 Anthony Mantha - 17 David Booth - 42 Martin Frk…‹
65 Dan DeKeyser - 25 Mike Green 52 Jonathan Ericsson - 83 Trevor Daley 55 Niklas Kronwall - 3 Nick Jensen…‹
35 Jimmy Howard [34 Petr Mrazek]…‹
Scratches: 28 Luke Witkowski (healthy), 61 Xavier Ouellet (healthy).