Game 54 Preview: FLYERS vs. KINGS
Interim head coach Scott Gordon's Philadelphia Flyers (23-23-6) are home on Thursday to take on interim head coach Willie Desjardins' Los Angeles Kings (22-27-4). Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET.
The game will be televised locally on NBCSP. The radio broadcast can be found on 97.5 FM The Fanatic with an online simulcast at FlyersRadio247.com.
This is the second and final meeting of the season between the inter-conference teams and the lone game in Philadelphia. At the Staples Cener on Nov. 1, the Flyers earned a 5-2 win.
A good start, three successive first period penalty kills (including a 5-on-3), and show resiliency when they faced some adversity in the second period.
Ivan Provorov, Wayne Simmonds, Oskar Lindblom, Claude Giroux and Robert Hà¤gg (empty net) scored for the Flyers. Brian Elliott earned the win in goal, stopping 25 of 27 shots, and also got credited with an assist on Hà¤gg's long-distance empty net goal from behind his own net. Ellliott came up with several crucial saves in timely situations.
Jeff Carter (power play, 3rd goal, one assist) and Ilya Kovalchuk (4th goal, one assist) had multi-point games for LA in a losing cause. Jack Campbell denied 26 of 30 shots.
The Flyers went 4-for-5 on the penalty kill and 0-for-1 on the power play.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers have gone 9-7-2 in the 18 games since the leaguewide Christmas break. However, after sustaining an eight-game winless streak (0-6-2), the team has won nine of its last 10 games including their current run of eight consecutive wins.
On Monday evening at the Wells Fargo Center, the Flyers rode a 41-save performance by Carter Hart to a 2-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. Philly received goals from Sean Couturier (power play, 21st) and Jakub Voracek (12th) in building a 2-1 lead over the first 23:20 of the game. Travis Konecny (17th assist), Nolan Patrick (9th assist) and Phil Varone (1st assist as a Flyer) earned a helper apiece. Brock Boeser (18th) scored the lone Vancouver goal, narrowing the gap to 2-1 shortly after Voracek scored on a breakaway.
Anthony Stolarz is slated to get the start in goal for the Flyers. On Wednesday, the Flyers placed vveteran center Jori Lehterठon waivers. Hà¤gg took a maintenance day off from practice.
Kings Outlook
The Kings are in last place in the Western Conference but have won back-to-back games heading into this match. The club is 10-14-3 on the road this season to date.
LA enters this game coming off a 5-1 road win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. LA broke loose for three goals in the third period -- two by Tyler Toffoli in a span of 35 seconds and one by former Devils star Ilya Kovalchuk -- to pull away
Former Flyers forward Jeff Carter missed Tuesday's game with a lower-body injury. He is doubtful for Thursday's game.
Thursday's game in the Kings' third road contest in four nights. On Monday, the team earned a 4-3 overtime win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The next night, LA vanquished the Devils.
Projected Lines (Subject to change)
FLYERS
25 James van Riemsdyk - 28 Claude Giroux - 11 Travis Konecny 23 Oskar Lindblom - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek 21 Scott Laughton - 19 Nolan Patrick -17 Wayne Simmonds 44 Phil Varone - 20 Mikhail Vorobyev - 12 Michael Raffl
9 Ivan Provorov - 6 Travis Sanheim 8 Robert Hà¤gg - 3 Radko Gudas 47 Andrew MacDonald - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
41 Anthony Stolarz [79 Carter Hart]
Scratches: 15 Jori Lehterठ(healthy, on waivers), 26 Christian Folin (healthy), 56 Mike McKenna (AHL conditioning assignment), 30 Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body), 37 Brian Elliott (IR, lower body), 10 Corban Knight (IR, collarbone), 5 Sam Morin (ACL surgery).
KINGS
19 Alex Iafallo - 11 Anze Kopitar - 23 Dustin Brown 14 Brendan Leipsic - 44 Nate Thompson - 73 Tyler Toffoli 17 Ilya Kovalchuk - 9 Adrian Kempe - 62 Carl Hagelin 13 Kyle Clifford - 10 Mike Amadio - 51 Austin Wagner…‹
24 Derek Forbort - 8 Drew Doughty 27 Alec Martinez - 61 Sean Walker 7 Oscar Fantenberg - 2 Paul Ladue
32 Jonathan Quick [36 Jack Campbell…‹]
Scratches: 3 Dion Phaneuf (healthy), 64 Matt Luff (healthy), 77 Jeff Carter (lower body), 22 Trevor Lewis (IR, foot), 76 Jonny Brodzinski (IR, shoulder).