PREVIEW: FLYERS @ BRUINS
Facing a virtual must-win game to improve their chances at earning a playoff spot, Craig Berube's Philadelphia Flyers (28-25-12) are in Beantown on Saturday afternoon to take on Claude Julien's Boston Bruins (31-22-10). Game time at TD Garden is 1:00 p.m. EST. The game will be televised locally on CSN Philadelphia and nationally on NHL Network.
This is the third and final meeting of the season between the teams, and the second in Boston. On opening night of the 2014-15 regular season, the visiting Flyers dropped a 2-1 regulation decision on a late third-period goal. On Jan. 10, the Flyers lost 3-1 on home ice.
If the Flyers are to gain ground on the Bruins, they will have to end a stretch of futility that has seen Philly go winless (0-4-1) in their last five games against Boston. The Flyers, who have posted a disappointing 9-17-6 record on the road this season, play nine of their next 13 games on the road.
Saturday's game is crucial for the Flyers. The club is currently four points behind the Bruins in the NHL wildcard race. Even if Philly wins in regulation to cut the gap to two points, Boston will still hold two games in hand (18 games remaining after Saturday's game, compared to the 16 the Flyers will have left) and also holds the tiebreaker advantage no matter what happens in this game.
In the meantime, the Flyers are also two points behind the Florida Panthers, who host the Islanders on Saturday. Philly and Florida have played the same number of games and the Flyers would currently hold a tiebreaker advantage.
The Ottawa Senators, 8-1-1 in their last 10 games, have moved to within one point of the Flyers in the standings. The Sens beat Buffalo, 3-2, in regulation on Friday night. Ottawa is idle on Saturday, and will have three games in hand on Philly after Saturday. The Flyers and Senators currently both have 25 regulation/overtime wins.
The Flyers last played on Thursday, hosting the St. Louis Blues. This game is the front end of a weekend back-to-back, with the Flyers heading to Newark afterwards to play the Devils on Sunday in a twilight game. The Bruins are in the same boat, minus the travel. The Bruins hosted Calgary on Thursday and will host Detroit in an afternoon game on Sunday.
Flyers outlook
The Flyers have gained at least one point in 15 of their last 18 games (10-3-5). In each of the last two matches, the Flyers have trailed in the third period (2-0 on Tuesday and 1-0 on Thursday) but came back to earn three of a possible four-points. The Flyers went 2-0-1 on their recent homestand, improving their home record to 19-8-6.
On Thursday against St. Louis, third period goals by Michael Del Zotto, Wayne Simmonds and Michael Raffl (empty net) keyed a 3-1 Flyers win. Matt Read had crucial assists on the game-tying and game-winning goals. Steve Mason stopped 28 of 29 shots to earn the win.
For Mason, who already knew that goaltending coach Jeff Reese would be departing the organization, Thursday's stellar performance came under emotionally difficult circumstances. Reese and Mason enjoyed an outstanding working relationship and a strong bond.
In 21 home games this season, Mason has a 12-4-4 record, 1.96 goals against average, .935 save percentage and one shutout. In 17 road outings, he has a respectable .913 save percentage and 2.61 goals against average but poor goal support has resulted in a 1-9-4 record. Even Mason's 65-minute road shutout of the New York Islanders ended in a shootout loss.
Overall, in the 15 games Mason has appeared in Flyers wins (14 starts, 13 decisions), he has posted a spectacular 1.54 goals against average, .954 save percentage and one shutout. Even his overall numbers in 23 appearances in games Philly has lost (21 starts, 21 decisions) have not been that bad: 2.71 goals against average with a .907 save percentage.
In the first half of the season, the Flyers top power play unit and the first line combination of Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux carried the team offensively. Voracek and Giroux have since struggled to produce, especially at even strength, and they were separated in five-on-five play by Craig Berube from the Feb. 21 game against Nashville onward.
Dating back to the final game before the All-Star break, the Flyers have been getting much more well-rounded contributions from a variety of different sources -- perhaps most notably from an offensive standpoint, the regular points being produced by forward Simmonds and defenseman Del Zotto -- and showing an ability to step up against top-notch competition.
Voracek (19 goals, 46 assists) enters Saturday's games two points behind Alexander Ovechkin, John Tavares, Evgeni Malkin and Nicklas Bà¤ckström in the NHL's Art Ross Trophy race. Voracek has two points (0 goals, two assists) in his last five games and seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last 15 games.
Team captain Giroux (18 goals, 42 assists) is tied for 13th in the NHL in scoring. He has three points (one goal, two assists) in his last five games and nine points (two goals and seven assists) in the 17 games the Flyers have played since the All-Star break.
Simmonds is tied for 12th in the NHL and leads the Flyers with 26 goals this season. He is third in the NHL with 13 power play tallies. He has two goals in the Flyers' last three games and has posted 10 goals and 16 points in his last 16 games.
Del Zotto has two goals and three points in his last four games. Over his last 19 games, the defenseman has posted seven goals and 16 points with a plus-four rating at even strength.
Fellow defenseman Mark Streit is tied for ninth in scoring among NHL defensemen this season (42 points) and is tied for second in power play scoring (24 points). Streit was a plus-nine at even strength at the Christmas break but has gone minus-14 since that time.
The Flyers rank 13th among NHL teams in winning percentage this season (19-2-6 record) when scoring first. In games in which the Flyers trail first, they rank 24th (9-23-6) including Tuesday's OT loss to Calgary and Thursday's regulation win over the Blues.
Nicklas Grossmann sustained an upper-body injury while blocking a shot early in the second period of last Saturday's home win over the New York Rangers. He officially remains day-to-day but could play in Boston. If he is unable to go, Carlo Colaiacovo will remain in the lineup.
Bruins outlook
Boston has had a rough ride over the last five weeks. The team went 4-6-2 in the month of February and opened their March slate with a 4-3 home shootout loss to Calgary on Thursday. However, the Bruins have points in three straight games (2-0-1) and four of the last five (3-1-1).
There have been a myriad of reasons why the Bruins find themselves clinging to the lower wildcard seed in the Eastern Conference rather than their more accustomed recent-year role as one of the NHL's front-running clubs. Key injury absences -- most notably to Zdeno Chara in the first half of the season and David Krejci both early in the season and of late -- have been just one of the reasons. The current Bruins are not as potent offensively or as intimidating as their immediate predecessor clubs but are still good enough to go on a run.
Entering Saturday's game, perennial Selke Trophy candidate Patrice Bergeron leads the Bruins with 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) in 62 games. Former Dallas Stars two-way winger Loui Eriksson is next with 36 points, with Brad Marchand, Carl Söderberg, Reilly Smith and defenseman Dougie Hamilton all one point behind Eriksson. Speedy and agitating forward Marchand paces the squad with 19 goals. All of the aforementioned seven players plus offensive defenseman Torey Krug (11 goals, 31 points) are in double-digit goals this season.
There is no question that the Bruins have missed top line center Krejci (seven goals, 26 points, plus-seven in 38 games) when he has been out of the lineup. Krejci is someone who can dictate the play and make everyone around him better. Unfortunately for Boston, Krejci is out four to six weeks from Feb. 23 with a partially torn MCL in his left knee.
Recently acquired forward Brett Connolly is also on the shelf for the Bruins. He is out six weeks from March 4 with a broken right index finger.
Last season's Vezina Trophy winning goaltender, Tuukka Rask, has had a solid season by the standards of the majority of goaltenders around the league -- 2.35 GAA, .920 save percentage, two shutouts, 25-16-10 record. However, the workhorse netminder had a down month back in December (2.98 GAA, .896 SV% in 12 outings). More recently, there was of Rask showing some signs of potential fatigue from overuse.
The Bruins' recent schedule has been light -- Saturday's game is just the second to date in March -- but the club is about to get become quite busy until a three-night break from March 23-25. Somewhere along the way, Boston may need backup Niklas Svedberg (2.39 GAA, .917 SV%, 6-5-0 record, two shutouts in 12 starts and 14 overall appearances) to step up and help deliver another win or two in upcoming games.
The Bruins acquired former Flyers forward Max Talbot from the Colorado Avalanche at the trade deadline. Talbot made his Boston debut in Thursday's game against the Flames.
Key team stat comparisons (NHL overall ranking)
Non-shootout goals per game: Flyers 2.62 (21st), Bruins 2.64 (20th) Non-shootout goals against per game: Flyers 2.77 (T-22nd), Bruins 2.51 (T-11th) Even strength Goals For/Against Ratio: Flyers 0.98 (T-19th), Bruins 1.12 (10th) Power play efficiency: Flyers 22.8% (3rd), Bruins 16.9% (23rd) Penalty killing efficiency: Flyers 76.7% (28th), Bruins 81.7% (13th) Faceoff percentage: Flyers 51.6% (T-8th), Bruins 53.8% (1st)
Projected lineups (Subject to change, will be updated)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 17 Wayne Simmonds 24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 93 Jakub Voracek 25 Ryan White - 10 Brayden Schenn - 18 R.J. Umberger 76 Chris VandeVelde - 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare - 36 Zac Rinaldo
55 Nick Schultz - 32 Mark Streit 15 Michael Del Zotto - 22 Luke Schenn 8 Nicklas Grossmann - 47 Andrew MacDonald
35 Steve Mason [29 Ray Emery]
Scratches: Vincent Lecavalier (healthy), Carlo Colaiacovo (healthy, will play if Nicklas Grossmann is unable to go), Radko Gudas (IR, knee surgery).
BRUINS
63 Brad Marchand - 37 Patrice Bergeron - 18 Reilly Smith 17 Milan Lucic - 51 Ryan Spooner - 88 David Pastrnak 23 Chris Kelly - 34 Carl Söderberg - 21 Loui Eriksson 20 Daniel Paille - 25 Max Talbot - 68 Brian Ferlin
33 Zdeno Chara - 27 Dougie Hamilton 47 Torey Krug - 54 Adam McQuaid 44 Dennis Seidenberg - 43 Matt Bartkowski
40 Tuukka Rask [72 Niklas Svedberg]
Scratches: Gregory Campbell (questionable, upper body), David Krejci (IR, knee), Kevan Miller (IR, shoulder).
********** FLYERS ALUMNI UPDATES
* The Flyers Alumni Team will be action tonight at the Joe Rust Ice Arena at the University of Delaware, taking on the Capital One All-Stars in a 7:00 p.m. benefit game for Junior Achievement of Delaware. Tickets are $10 and be purchased online through Tickemaster or by calling the JA office at 302-654-4510.
Starting at 4 p.m., there will be a variety of family friendly activities and silent auction to raise money for Junior Achievement. Among the events are a free family skate on the rink, a treasure chest with a grand prize of balcony suite seats to see Kimmo Timonen's return to Philadelphia when the Flyers host the Blackhawks on Wed. March 25. In addition to the items up for silent auction and basket raffles, there will be a fuzzy dice roll for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card. There is also a "Wheel of Cuisine" spin with a chance to land on food/restaurant gift cards valued up to $125. For the kids, there is a lollipop tree and temporary tattoos as well as a shooter tutor station.
Between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m., Flyers Hall of Fame honoree Brian Propp with be available for pictures and autographs. He will stay until he has to get to ready to take the ice for the game.
* The latest edition of the monthly Then and Now feature on notable former Flyers players takes an in-depth look at the life and career of fiery goaltender Robert Esche. The Utica, NY, native was one of the more underrated goalies the Flyers have had in their recent history and he holds the Philadelphia years of his career close to his heart to this day. For more, click here.
* Flyers Alumni birthdays: Tough-guy defensemen Jack McIlhargey (now a Flyers scout) and Terry Carkner share a March 7 birthday. For mini-bios on their Flyers' careers as well as a look back at other notable March 7 happenings in franchise history including Mark Recchi hitting the 100-point mark for the 1992-93 season, Tim Kerr's 50th goal of the 1984-85 campaign and hat tricks by Simon Nolet on this date in 1970 and 1974, click here.
* Three years ago yesterday, the Flyers retired Mark Howe's jersey in a special pregame ceremony before the Flyers defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 3-2. The ceremony was all the more moving because Mark's father, hockey legend Gordie Howe, was on hand to witness it along with Mark's children Travis, Azia and Nolan.