(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Rob Riches, Sports Talk Philly contributor 
As the Flyers return home from a quick road swing — a stretch that saw them just manage one point over four games, while being shut out twice and allowing two hat tricks — they're returning to a building that's been much more friendly to them. They've been victorious in four of their last five home games, posting a 12-5-3 record on Wells Fargo Center ice.
One downside, though? They welcome the division-rival New York Rangers to town, a team responsible for one of those home losses (back in November). The Rangers make the trek to Philly for the second installment of a back-to-back, having fallen 4-1 to Buffalo last night and previously winning their three previous games.
Puck drop is set for 8 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Rangers Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Jakub Voracek | 39 | 11 | 24 | 35 | Derek Stepan | 40 | 9 | 21 | 30 |
| Claude Giroux | 39 | 10 | 22 | 32 | Mats Zuccarello | 40 | 8 | 21 | 29 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 39 | 17 | 15 | 32 | Chris Kreider | 34 | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| Brayden Schenn | 36 | 11 | 14 | 25 | Kevin Hayes | 40 | 11 | 17 | 28 |
| Travis Konecny | 39 | 5 | 14 | 19 | J.T. Miller | 40 | 12 | 15 | 27 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 21 Derek Stepan |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +1 | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, +4 |
In his return from a one-game benching, Travis Konecny found the back of the net against Anaheim — something he previously hadn't done in 23 games. Look for him to continue to do damage, especially alongside impact players on the second line like Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds.
One of the Rangers' most consistent scorers, Derek Stepan always shows up in games against the Flyers. Not only has he netted three goals in his last two games against them, the Rangers' leading scorer has nine goals and 28 points in 30 career games against the Orange and Black. Those 28 points are the most he's tallied against any NHL team.
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 30 Henrik Lundqvist |
| 2-0-0, 1.79 GAA, .938 SV% | 16-9-1, 2.51 GAA, .912 SV% |
Steve Mason will step in for the Flyers, making his 22nd start in the Flyers' last 24 games. He turned away 22 shots in the Flyers' 4-3 shootout loss to the Ducks, and could honestly have earned the win if John Gibson wasn't standing on his head on the other end of the ice.
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to start for the Rangers, after being saddled with the loss against the Sabres. He received no goal support, and allowed 15 goals on 19 shots — an uncharacteristically-bad night for 'Hank.'
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Nick Schultz, Mark Streit, Boyd Gordon, Nick Cousins
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 28 Claude Giroux | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 11 Travis Konecny | 10 Brayden Schenn | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 24 Matt Read | 14 Sean Couturier | 22 Dale Weise |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Roman Lyubimov |
| Defense | ||
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (6th, 8th at home), Rangers (4th, 2nd on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (20th, 12th at home), Rangers (9th, 12th on road)
- Recent History vs. Rangers:
- Nov. 25, 2016 - Derek Stepan, newcomer Matt Puempel and Kevin Hayes gave the Rangers a 3-0 lead at the game's midway point, but Chris VandeVelde and Shayne Gostisbehere put the Flyers on the board in the third period. While their rally fell short, Steve Mason made 20 saves on 23 shots.
- Feb. 14, 2016 - Derek Stepan scored two goals and Derick Brassard opened the scoring, while Dan Girardi and Mats Zuccarello each recorded a pair of assists en route to a 3-1 Rangers win. Brayden Schenn tallied the lone Flyers tally with less than 10 seconds on the clock, but at that point, it was too little, too late.
- Feb. 6, 2016 – It looked like the Flyers could ride good play from Mason and Ryan White's goal at 5:46 of the third period, but Keith Yandle tied the game with 12.9 seconds on the clock in regulation en route to a 3-2 shootout win for the Blueshirts. Gostisbehere and Chris Kreider also scored.
- The Flyers are 5-3-2 in their last 10 home games against the Rangers, dating back to March 26, 2013.
- Milestone Watch – Steve Mason remains one win away from tying Wayne Stephenson for third-most wins in franchise history (93).
Where to Watch:
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
