PREVIEW: FLYERS VS. MAPLE LEAFS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (20-15-8) will try to continue their climb in the Eastern Conference standings as they host Mike Babcock's Toronto Maple Leafs (16-20-7) on Tuesday evening. Game time at the Wells Fargo Center is 7:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CSN Philadelphia.
This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season, and the first of two in Philadelphia. The teams will rematch on Feb. 20 in Toronto and April 7 in Philadelphia. The Flyers won two of three games against the Leafs last season, including a 1-0 home shutout win on Jan. 31, 2015.
The Flyers need to avoid falling into a trap game scenario of losing to an opponent buried in the standings. The Flyers' recent history, both this season and last, has been to post a winning record against playoff-bound teams and to struggle to win games against teams beneath them in the standings. This game is the month's only match for Philly against a club that is unlikely to push for a playoff spot.
This game is end of a three-in-four stretch for the Flyers. The team took an off-ice day on Monday to rest after playing back-to-back games on Saturday against the New York Rangers (3-2 shootout loss) and Sunday on the road against the Detroit Red Wings (2-1 shootout win). The Maple Leafs last played on Saturday, sustaining a 3-2 regulation road loss to the Boston Bruins.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers enter this game on a six-game point streak (5-0-1). After starting the season 5-8-3, the club has earned points in 20 of their last 27 games. They have gone 15-7-5 in that span.
On Saturday afternoon, the Flyers and Rangers engaged in hard-fought game that resulted in a 2-2 tie after 65 minutes of hockey. New York won 3-2 via shootout. Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds (power play) scored for Philly, while Steve Mason played marvelously in stopping 29 of 31 shots in regulation and OT before going 1-for-2 in the shootout. Shayne Gostisbehere made his return to the Phladelphia lineup from a two-game absence with a lower-body injury.
The next night in Detroit, Michal Neuvirth played brilliantly in stopping 29 of 30 shots in regulation and overtime before going two-for-three in the shootout. The Flyers got a third period tying goal by Claude Giroux -- the third straight game the team has made a third-period comeback. They also overcame a pair of rulings that did not go their way on goaltender interference plays around the net; the former on Detroit's lone goal of the game and the latter canceling out a would-be game winning power play goal by Gostisbehere. After 65 minutes of tied hockey at 1-1, Giroux and Jakub Voracek scored in the shootout to get the bonus point.
Team captain Giroux leads the Flyers with 13 goals, 22 assists and 35 points in 43 games. He is followed on the Flyers' scoring leader list by Voracek (five goals, 26 assists, 31 points), Simmonds (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points, 86 penalty minutes) and Schenn (10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points). Sean Couturier rounds out the top five with nine goals, 13 assists and 22 points. Gostisbehere has contributed seven goals (four on the power play, three in overtime), nine assists and 16 points in 25 games.
Mason is likely to return to the net on Tuesday night. He has appeared in 27 games, posting a 10-10-6 record, 2.69 goals against average, .914 save percentage and three shutouts (four regulation shutouts). Neuvirth has appeared in 19 games, posting a 10-5-2 record, 2.05 GAA, .936 save percentage and three shutouts.
Maple Leafs Outlook
Toronto brings a five-game losing streak -- all in regulation -- into this game. Five games ago, the Leafs and Flyers were tied in the Eastern Conference standings but now Philly is nine points ahead. The Leafs are without their top offensive player, former Flyers left winger James van Riemsdyk, for approximately five weeks due to a non-displaced left foot fracture.
On Saturday, the Maple Leafs hung tough against Boston despite a 45-29 shot disadvantage. The Leafs took the game to the first intermission tied at 1-1 and to the second intermission knotted at 2-2 before Brad Marchand's goal in the final minute of regulation sent Toronto down to defeat. Leo Komarov and Shawn Matthias scored for Toronto in a losing cause, while Jonathan Bernier turned back 42 of 45 shots.
The Flyers' special teams have been a disappointment this season, especially a power play that usually ranked near the top of the league in recent past years. Toronto can relate. Without van Riemsdyk, the team is on an 0-for-14 skid on the power play over the past four games. The penalty kill has recently struggled as well. Bobcock reportedly shuffled personnel on his special teams units at the team's practice on Monday, including experimenting with Nazem Kadri on the penalty kill.
Komarov has passed the injured van Riemsdyk atop the Toronto scoring chart, with 16 goals, 14 assists and 30 points in 43 games. JVR is second with 14 goals, 15 assists and 29 points in 40 games. They are followed by Tyler Bozak (nine goals, 19 assists, 28 points in 39 games), Kadri (eight goals, 15 assists, 23 points), P.A. Parenteau (11 goals, 11 assists, 22 points) and defenseman Dion Phaneuf (three goals, 18 assists, 21 points).
James Reimer is expected to get the start in goal. In 20 apperances, Reimer has posted a 7-7-4 record, 2.03 goals against average and .934 save percentage. Bernier has played in 21 games, with a 6-12-3 record, 3.13 GAA and .899 save percentage.
Apart from JVR, the Maple Leafs are without Nick Spaling, who is on IR with what is believed to be a shoulder injury. Neither Nathan Horton (degenerative spine condition) nor veteran defenseman Stephane Robidas (knee) are expected to play again.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.23 (28th), Maple Leafs 2.42 (T-22nd) Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.56 (14th), Maple Leafs 2.74 (23rd) 5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 62/63, Maple Leafs 66/76 Power play efficiency: Flyers 15.3% (29th), Maple Leafs 16.9% (26th) Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 78.8% (25th), Maple Leafs 80.0% (T-16th) Shots per game: Flyers 30.2 (13th), Maple Leafs 31.2 (8th) Shots against per game: Flyers 32.0 (29th), Maple Leafs 31.2 (27th) Faceoff percentage: Flyers 50.0% (16th), Maple Leafs 51.2% (7th)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
93 Jakub Voracek - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds 12 Michael Raffl - 14 Sean Couturier - 10 Brayden Schenn 76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 25 Ryan White 24 Matt Read - 21 Scott Laughton - 20 R.J. Umberger
15 Michael Del Zotto - 3 Radko Gudas 55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit 82 Evgeny Medvedev - 53 Shayne Gostisbehere
35 Steve Mason [30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: Brandon Manning (healthy), Jordan Weal (healthy).
MAPLE LEAFS
23 Shawn Matthias - 43 Nazem Kadri - 47 Leo Komarov 40 Michael Grabner - 42 Tyler Bozak - 15 P.A. Parenteau 19 Joffrey Lupul - 24 Peter Holland - 28 Brad Boyes 26 Daniel Winnik - 56 Byron Froese - 25 Rich Clune
51 Jake Gardiner - 3 Dion Phaneuf 2 Matt Hunwick - 44 Morgan Rielly 52 Martin Marincin - 46 Roman Polak
34 James Reimer [45 Jonathan Bernier ]
Scratches: Josh Leivo (healthy), Frank Corrado (healthy), James van Riemsdyk (IR, foot), Nick Spaling (IR, shoulder).