MINI-PREVIEW: FLYERS @ RANGERS
Starting a set of back-to-back games before heading into the All-Star break, Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (23-19-6) are in Manhattan to take on Alain Vigneault's New York Rangers (31-16-1) at Madison Square Garden. The nationally televised Wednesday Night Rivalry game airs on NBCSN at 8:00 p.m. ET.
This is the third meeting of the season between the teams, and the first of two at MSG. The season series concludes on April 2. On Nov. 25 (Black Friday), the Flyers dropped a 3-2 decision in regulation to the visiting Rangers. In a Wednesday Night Rivalry Game in Philly on Jan. 4, the Rangers blew open a 1-0 game in the third period and went on to win, 5-2.
Flyers Outlook
In the 16 matches following their 10-game winning streak, the Flyers have gone 4-9-3. Idle last night, the Flyers dropped out of the lower wildcard seed as the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings to go from below the playoff cutoff to third place in the Atlantic Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs moved down to the lower wildcard and Philly dropped below the cutoff.
Coming off a five-night hiatus, the Flyers split a pair of weekend games. On Saturday, the Flyers suffered a 4-1 home loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Flyers played reasonable well until late in the second period, and a 1-1 tie got away from them. On Sunday, the Flyers rebounded with a 3-2 overtime road win over the New York Islanders. Despite having outplayed the Islanders for much of the night, the Flyers had to rally from behind before pulling even early in the third period.
Wayne Simmonds and Ivan Provorov scored for the Flyers in regulation on Sunday. Claude Giroux scored the game-winner in overtime. Steve Mason played his strongest game in over a month, looking sharp in stopping 36 of 38 shots.
Provorov took a puck off his hand at practice on Tuesday but stayed on the ice.
Rangers Outlook
The Rangers are 14-9-1 at MSG this season. The team enters this game coming off a 3-2 home win against the LA Kings. Brandon Pirri (8th goal of the season) and Matt Puempel (sixth) scored for New York. The Rangers were outshot by a 38-17 margin but Henrik Lundqvist, who took first-star honors, turned back 37 shots.
New York has now won three games in a row following a three-game skid that saw the team yield 16 goals. Over the current winning streak, the team has given up just four goals.
On the injury front, the Rangers are without backup goalie Antti Raanta (lower body), defenseman Marc Staal (concussion, has resumed skating) and forwards Kevin Hayes (left leg, out two-to-three weeks) and Jesper Fast (upper body, out seven-to-10 days from Jan. 18).
PROJECTED LINEUPS (subject to change)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 93 Jakub Voracek 11 Travis Konecny - 10-Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds 25 Nick Cousins - 14 Sean Couturier - 24 Matt Read 76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 P-E Bellemare - 13 Roman Lyubimov
9 Ivan Provorov - 47 Andrew MacDonald 32 Mark Streit - 3 Radko Gudas 23 Brandon Manning - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
35 Steve Mason [30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: Nick Schultz (healthy), Michael Del Zotto (day-to-day, lower body), Dale Weise (healthy).
RANGERS
20 Chris Kreider - 21 Derek Stepan - 36 Mats Zuccarello 61 Rick Nash - 36 Mika Zibanejad - 89 Pavel Buchnevich 40 Michael Grabner - 10 J.T. Miller - 26 Jimmy Vesey 12 Matt Puempel - 24 Oscar Lindberg - 73 Brandon Pirri
27 Ryan McDonagh -5 Dan Girardi 22 Nick Holden -8 Kevin Klein 76 Brady Skjei - 4 Adam Clendening
30 Henrik Lundqvist [45 Magnus Hellberg]
Scratches: Antti Raanta (lower body), Marc Staal (concussion), Kevin Hayes (left leg), Jesper Fast (upper body).
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QUICK HITS: JANUARY 25, 2017
* Earl Foreman, the brother-in-law and close friend of the late Ed Snider, passed away of natural causes on Monday in Chevy Chase, MD at age 92. He is survived by his wife Phyllis (Mr. Snider's sister), their sons, Scott, Ronald, and Stuart; three grandchildren; and two great grandchildren. Mr. Foreman, a part-owner of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960s, was a minority-share partner in the original founding Philadelphia Hockey Club, Inc. group that formed the Flyers after bidding successfully for an expansion franchise in Philadelphia. Later, he remained a trusted adviser to Mr. Snider after Snider emerged as the team's primary owner. Mr. Foreman was also the owner of the Virginia Squires of the now-defunct ABA, bringing Julius "Dr. J" Erving to the team along with George "the Iceman" Gervin.
* The Flyers posted an online coupon code for fans interested in attending AHL All-Star festivities in Allentown's PPL Center:
See the stars of tomorrow at 2017 #AHLAllStar, hosted by the @LVPhantoms! Get $25 tickets using promo code FLYERS → https://t.co/ISw2Faiqyf pic.twitter.com/xEDMn00ikY
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 24, 2017