GAME 51: FLYERS vs. PENGUINS
In the first game after their respective nine-day schedule breaks, Alain Vigneault's Philadelphia Flyers (27-17-6 overall, 11-13-2 road) are in western Mike Sullivan's Pittsburgh Penguins (31-14-5 overall, 18-5-3 home) on Tuesday night. Game time at PPG Paints Arena is 7:00 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 the Flyers Radio 24/7 component of the Flyers Broadcast Network.
This is the third of four meetings this season between the Metro Division archrivals, and the second and final game in Pittsburgh. Friday's game is the second half of a non-traditional home-and-home set, which saw the teams play the first half of it in Philadelphia on Jan. 21 before the start of the All-Star break and both clubs' bye week. The season series will conclude back in Philadelphia on March 29.
On Oct. 29, the Flyers suffered one of their worst losses of the season; a 7-1 pasting at PPG Paints Arena at the hands of the Penguins. The game was 4-0 by the time it was 14:02 into the first period, and Brian Elliott was strafed for six goals on 28 shots over the opening 40 minutes of the game. Carter Hart mopped up in the third period and nearly got through it unscathed before he was abandoned on an unstoppable goal in the final seven seconds. Oskar Lindblom's early third period marker was the only thing that prevented a Matt Murray shutout. Murray stopped 29 of 30 shots.
On Jan. 21 in Philly, the Flyers were the dominant side in a 3-0 shutout win. Elliott saw only 19 shots for the game and had only a couple of tough saves to make (including a 10-bell save on Bryan Rust early in the third period). After a scoreless opening stanza, Jakub Voracek scored early in the second period and James van Riemsdyk struck late to build a 2-0 lead. Justin Braun scored a long-distance empty netter with one minute left in the game. Tristan Jarry stopped 27 of 29 shots in a losing cause.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
With the exception of a hiccup against the Montreal Canadiens, the Flyers played arguably their best hockey of the season over the stretch of games that led into the break. They defeated the Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues and Pittsburgh. They played well defensively and got strong goaltending in a 1-0 loss to a scorching hot Tampa Bay team, and took care of business in a 4-1 home win over the LA Kings. The win over the Penguins on Jan. 21 was a truly outstanding 60-minute effort from the entire team.
The Flyers returned to practice on Thursday afternoon before leaving for Pittsburgh. Michael Raffl, who missed the last game against the Penguins, reclaimed his spot on Sean Couturier's line. Joel Farabee moved back to the fourth line at five-on-five, but still took reps with the second power play unit.
The Flyers lineup will otherwise be the same as the last game with the Pens. Shayne Gostisbehere practiced in full (the third time he's skated since undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Jan. 14) but is not quite ready to play yet. He will likely be upgraded later this weekend to day-to-day/ game day decision status but is out for the game in Pittsburgh.
Carter Hart (lower right abdominal muscle strain) skated on his own before practice on Thursday. The plan, per Vigneault, is for Hart to return to practice next week after the Flyers complete their current stretch of three games in four nights. The hope is that Hart can be ready to play in about seven days but that is a rough estimate and could take a bit longer. Even minor core muscle group injuries are nothing to trifle with, and caution is in order. Hart reported feeling much better than he did before the break but the team will not rush him back into the net.
According to Vigneault, the plan is to start Elliott in Pittsburgh and then Alex Lyon at home against Colorado on Saturday. Elliott will likely get the start on Monday in Detroit. On Thursday, the Flyers recalled Lyon and Connor Bunnaman, both of whom were temporarily assigned to the AHL's Lehigh Valley Phantoms over the NHL break.
PENGUINS OUTLOOK
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was not inclined to give the Flyers too much credit for their perfomance in the front end of the home-and-home, beyond admitting that Philly seemed to play with more hunger and urgency. He pledged that his own team would elevate its game back to its accustomed level in the post-break rematch.
Defenseman Justin Schultz (lower-body injury) has missed the team's last 16 games. He was close to being ready to be activated at the time the Penguins came to Philadelphia for the final game before the break. On Thursday, he was officially activated from IR. While it's not 100 percent certain that he'll play on Friday, it seems more likely than not. Schultz was primarily paired at Thursday's practice with Chad Ruhwedel but pairs rotated and he also took reps with Marcus Pettersson. If Schultz plays on Friday, one player from the recent group of six starting D-men, perhaps Juuso Riikola, will have to be scratched.
Elsewhere on the injury front since the last meeting with the Flyers, Dominik Kahun (concussion) is making progress and resumed skating but is not ready to play. Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery) remains on IR. The Penguins recalled Anthony Angello from the AHL's WB/S Penguins.
PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS (subject to change, will be updated)
FLYERS
25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny 12 Michael Raffl - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek 21 Scott Laughton - 13 Kevin Hayes - 62 Nic Aube-Kubel 49 Joel Farabee - 82 Connor Bunnaman - 18 Tyler Pitlick
9 Ivan Provorov - 15 Matt Niskanen 6 Travis Sanheim -5 Phil Myers 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 61 Justin Braun
37 Brian Elliott [34 Alex Lyon]
Power Play 1: Giroux, JVR, Konecny, Hayes, Provorov. Power Play 2: Couturier, Farabee, Voracek, Sanheim, Niskanen.
Scratches: 79 Carter Hart (abdominal muscle strain), 53 Shayne Gostisbehere (knee).
LTIR: 55 Sam Morin (torn ACL, out for season), 23 Oskar Lindblom (Ewing sarcoma, out for season), 19 Nolan Patrick (migraines).
PENGUINS
19 Jared McCann - 87 Sidney Crosby - 12 Dominik Simon 17 Bryan Rust - 71 Evgeni Malkin -72 Patric Hörnqvist 46 Zach Aston-Reese - 53 Teddy Blueger - 13 Brandon Tanev 18 Alex Galchenyuk - 26 Andrew Agozzino - 57 Anthony Angello
3 Jack Johnson - 58 Kris Letang 28 Marcus Pettersson - 6 John Marino 4 Justin Schultz - 2 Chad Ruhwedel
35 Tristan Jarry [30 Matt Murray]
Power Play 1: Hörnqvist, Crosby, Rust, Letang, Malkin Power Play 2: Galchenyuk, McCann, Simon, Marino, Schultz/Riikola
Scratches: One of 4 Justin Schultz (day-to-day, lower body) or another defenseman such as 50 Jusso Riikola (healthy), 24 Dominik Kahun (concussion).
Injured reserve: 8 Brian Dumoulin (ankle surgery), 27 Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery), 59 Jake Guentzel (right shoulder surgery).
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PHANTOMS RETURN FROM ALL-STAR BREAK
The Flyers' and Penguins' American Hockey League farm teams are also playing another on Friday night, exiting their league's All-Star break: the Lehigh Valley Phantoms are on the road to play the Wilkes Barre/ Scranton Penguins at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Phantoms' home-road differentials this season are even more skewed than their parent team's. The Phantoms are 14-5-3 on home ice (third best in the Eastern Conference; there is no inter-conference play in the AHL except for the Calder Cup Finals). However, on the road, the team is a dreadful 4-16-3 (dead last not only in the East but, by three points, the worst away record in the entire American Hockey League).
For this reason, the Phantoms are in 15th place in the 16-team Eastern Conference and in 7th place in the eight-team Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, WB/S (22-16-7) sits only one spot higher in the Atlantic than the Phantoms but it's a nine-point gap with both teams having played 45 games. The Pens are 11-8-3 at home and 11-8-4 on the road.