UPDATE 5:00 PM ET
Michael Del Zotto is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Brandon Manning will be in the starting lineup.
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PREVIEW: FLYERS @ DUCKS
Dave Hakstol's Philadelphia Flyers (15-12-7) return from an extended Christmas break on Sunday to start a three-game California road trip with a game against Bruce Boudreau's Anaheim Ducks (12-15-6). Game time at the Honda Center is 8:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on TCN Philadelphia.
This is the first of two meetings between the teams this season. The clubs will rematch in Philadelphia on Feb. 9. Last season, the clubs twice played to 65-minute ties with Anaheim winning via shootout.
The Flyers last played on Monday, hosting the St. Louis Blues. The team has had five nights off since that time. The road trip continues on Dec. 30 against the San Jose Sharks. The Ducks last played on Tuesday, going overtime at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers. Two nights from today, the Ducks are on the road to take on the Calgary Flames.
Flyers Outlook
The Flyers have taken at least one point in 14 of the last 18 games (10-4-4). The club is is 8-2-2 over the past 12 games. However, any time a team has such a long schedule break in the schedule, especially when there is not opportunity to practice, it is almost like starting anew.
Although the Flyers played well for the most part from their post-Thanksgiving to Christmas schedule, they want to avoid a recent tendancy toward slow starts in games. On Monday, the club pulled off an improbable 4-3 regulation win against St. Louis after trailing 3-0 in the second period.
A shorthanded goal by Chris VandeVelde, jamming in the puck after a spectacular skate save denial of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare started the comeback ball rolling against the Blues. The Flyers then got even strength and power play goals by Wayne Simmonds to knot the score, followed by an Evgeny Medvedev goal with 3:13 remaining in regulation to win the game. Steve Mason earned the win with 26 saves on 29 shots.
Team captain Claude Giroux leads the Flyers with 11 goals, 17 assists and 28 points in 34 games. He is followed by Jakub Voracek (three goals, 20 assists, 23 points), Simmonds (nine goals, 10 assists, 19 points, 82 penalty minutes) and Brayden Schenn (seven goals, eight assists, 15 points). In 18 games since his recall from the AHL, offensive-minded rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has contributed six goals (four on the power play, three in overtime), eight assists and 14 points. Sean Couturier rounds out the top six with five goals, seven assists and 12 points in 28 games played.
In goal, Sunday's expected starter Mason has made 21 appearances, posting a 2.72 goals against average, .913 save percentage and 7-8-5 record. Michal Neuvirth has made 16 appearances, posting a 2.06 GAA, .937 save percentage and 8-4-2 record. Mason has posted two shutouts and a regulation shutout in a 1-0 OT loss, while Neuvirth has authored three shutouts.
Veteran offensive defenseman Mark Streit (detached pubic plate) is getting close to being ready to return from Nov. 17 surgery. He will not play in Anaheim but could be activated from the long-term injured reserve list before Wednesday's game in San Jose. When the Flyers activate Streit, the Flyers will need to make a roster move, both for salary cap purposes and to get the active roster down to the maximum 23 players.
Ducks Outlook
One of the best NHL teams in recent years, including a 109-point season and the top record in the Western Conference in 2014-15, the Ducks have buried themselves deep underneath the rubble of a horrendous start to the current season.
Previously known for their aggressive physical play and for having one of the most feared top lines in the NHL, Anaheim has inexplicably become the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season by a signficant margin. Even the 29th-ranked Flyers have scored an average 2.15 goals per game this season, while the Ducks have produced just 1.85 goals per game.
The Ducks have played somewhat better at home (8-5-4) than on the road (4-10-2) this season, but this is a club that posted 55 points (26-12-3) at the Honda Center one season ago. Exiting the Christmas break, Ahaneim finds itself sitting in the Western Conference basement with a 10-point gap to make up to get into wildcard playoff position.
On Tuesday, the Ducks salvaged a point against the New York Rangers in a 3-2 road overtime loss. Trailing by a goal late in the third period, Rickard Rickell (one goal, one assist) forced overtime as he tied the game at 2-2 with 2:54 remaining in regulation. Corey Perry scored a first-period goal to open the scoring. John Gibson stopped 19 of 22 shots. New York won the game on an overtime 4-on-3 power play goal by Mats Zuccarello.
Former Hart Trophy winner Perry leads the Ducks with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 33 games played to date. He is followed by former Hart Trophy finalist Getzlaf, who has scored just one goal in 29 games but leads the team with 19 assists in 29 games.
Finnish defenseman Sami Vatanen is next with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists). Rakell has 15 points on seven goals and eight assists in 30 games. Ryan Kesler has mustered a disappointing 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and is -14 at even strength. Next is defenseman Cam Fowler (three goals, 11 points, -11), followed by Chris Stewart (six goals, 10 points in 31 games) and Andrew Cogliano (three goals, 10 points, -14). Cogliano, who has never missed a game in his entire NHL career to date, owns the NHL's current iron man streak at 655 consecutive games played.
In goal, Danish netminder Frederik Andersen has appeared in 19 games, posting a 5-8-4 record, 2.59 goals against average and .911 save percentage. American goaltender Gibson has strong stats in 11 appearances with a 1.97 goals against average and .923 save percentage but has a 4-4-2 record to show for it due to the lack of goal support. Two of Gibson's four wins have come via shutout.
On the injury front, Simon Despres (concussion) remains on the injured reserve list.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.15 (29th), Ducks 1.85 (30th) Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.62 (18th), Ducks 2.55 (17th) 5-on-5 Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 46/52, Ducks 39/57 Power play efficiency: Flyers 16.3% (26th), Ducks 15.7% (28th) Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 80.2% (17th), Ducks 87.7% (1st) Shots per game: Flyers 30.5 (T-7th), Ducks 29.3 (T-18th) Shots against per game: Flyers 32.5 (29th), Ducks 28.1 (4th) Faceoff percentage: Flyers 49.7% (19th), Ducks 51.5% (3rd)
Projected lineups (subject to change, will be updated)
Flyers
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 10 Brayden Schenn 93 Jakub Voracek - 14 Sean Couturier - 17 Wayne Simmonds 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 - 82 Evgeny Medvedev 53 Shayne Gostisbehere - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason [30 Michal Neuvirth]
Scratches: Vincent Lecavalier (healthy), Brandon Manning (healthy), Sam Gagner (healthy), Mark Streit (LTIR, displaced pubic plate).
Ducks
67 Rickard Rakell - 15 Ryan Getzlaf - 10 Corey Perry 26 Carl Hagelin - 17 Ryan Kesler - 7 Andrew Cogliano 19 Patrick Maroon - 22 Shawn Horcoff - 33 Jakob Silfverberg 46 Jiri Sekac - 44 Nate Thompson - 25 Mike Santorelli
4 Cam Fowler - 2 Kevin Bieksa 47 Hampus Lindholm - 42 Josh Manson 3 Clayton Stoner - 45 Sami Vatanen
31 Frederik Andersen / 36 John Gibson
Scratches: Chris Stewart (healthy scratch last game), Korbinian Holzer (healthy), Simon Despres (concussion).