When the Ottawa Senators travel to the city of Brotherly Love, they will be facing a club that is pretty much a polar opposite to themselves.
Whereas the Senators have been getting good/great goaltending that has kept them in games despite a sputtering offense, the Flyers have not been so fortunate. While the Flyers have allowed the fourth fewest shots per game in the league so far this season, they are tied for the worst goals against per game.
Michal Neuvirth and Steve Mason have split the starts so far, with neither being able to get a grasp on the starting job. Both have save percentages well below .900, and GAAs well over 3. Four times in 16 games this season the starting goalie for the Flyers has not finished the game. That number includes the Flyers' last game, where Neuvirth left after the first period and is out 4 to 6 weeks with a knee injury, meaning the job is Mason's to try and run with and get some consistency in his game.
This is also a dichotomy in terms of special teams. The Flyers have the leagues second best power play at 29.3% while the Senators are now dead last at 9.3%. Ottawa has the 8th best penalty kill and the Flyers have the 25th ranked PK.
Both teams played their last games against the Minnesota Wild, the Flyers beating them 3-2 at home the night before the Wild beat the Senators 2-1 in overtime in Ottawa.
The Flyers are 4-3-1 at home while the Senators are 3-3 on the road.
This is a case of a team who has no trouble scoring but can't keep the puck out of their own net in Philadelphia against a team that has tightened up defensively but hasn't been able to bulge the twine more than once a game.
The line of Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Jakub Voracek has led the way offensively, but former Ottawa 67's centre Travis Konecny is having a solid start to his rookie season with four goals and ten points so far, one of seven Flyers skaters to have reached double digits in points already.
By contrast Erik Karlsson is the only Senators player to have reached ten points so far, sitting with 13 in 15 games, with Kyle Turris and Ryan Dzingel sitting at nine.
Something's gotta give in this one. Two completely different styles involved, and each team will be looking to set the tone from the start. Is it more likely that Ottawa breaks out offensively or a Flyers goalie being able to hold a team to under two goals, something they have not been able to do yet this season. If anything, the Flyers of this season are reminiscent of the Senators of last season.
Craig Anderson will start again for the Senators, likely against Mason who came in for Neuvirth to start the second period against the Wild and picked up the win in relief.