(Kate Frese/SB Nation)
Alright, so this is pretty cool. Not only are the Flyers in first place over Pittsburgh in the Metro, but Wayne Simmonds is in a heated race with the vaunted Connor McDavid for the Rocket Richard Trophy. What a way to start the season.
After opening the season with a 5-3 win in San Jose, the Flyers trek down the California coast to Los Angeles, taking on a new-look Kings team. They'll be lining up against a familiar foe, as former coach John Stevens begins his second stint behind the Kings' bench tonight.
Puck drop is set for 10 p.m.
Team Leaders (2016-17)
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Los Angeles Kings | GP | G | A | P |
| Jake Voracek | 82 | 20 | 41 | 61 | Jeff Carter | 82 | 32 | 34 | 66 |
| Claude Giroux | 82 | 14 | 44 | 58 | Anze Kopitar | 76 | 12 | 40 | 52 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 82 | 31 | 23 | 54 | Tanner Pearson | 80 | 24 | 20 | 44 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 79 | 12 | 30 | 42 | Drew Doughty | 82 | 12 | 32 | 44 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 76 | 7 | 32 | 39 | Alec Martinez | 82 | 9 | 30 | 39 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 17 Wayne Simmonds | 77 Jeff Carter |
| Last 5 Games: 3 G, 0 A, 3 P | Last 5 Games: N/A |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 30 Michal Neuvirth | 32 Jonathan Quick |
| 2016-17: 11-11-1, 2.82 GAA, .891 SV% | 2016-17: 8-5-2, 2.26 GAA, .917 SV% |
The Flyers' platoon takes effect on the heel of back-to-back games, as Michal Neuvirth will make his first start. Injuries and inconsistency plagued Neuvirth in 2016-17, limiting him to just 28 games in the cage.
After a season that saw him limited to just 17 games because of injury, Jonathan Quick is set to return with a vengeance this season. Quick was among the best netminders in the game at the time of his injury, and he'll look to reclaim his place on that mantle this season.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Sam Morin, Travis Sanheim
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 40 Jordan Weal | 19 Nolan Patrick | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 22 Dale Weise | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 20 Taylor Leier | 21 Scott Laughton | 12 Michael Raffl |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 8 Robert Hagg | |
| Goalie | ||
| 30 Michal Neuvirth |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers are expected to roll out the same lineup they used for Wednesday's opener in San Jose. Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim were left out, though, so I wouldn't rule out either of them making an appearance in the lineup.
Michal Neuvirth will get his first start of the season to cap off the back-to-back.
Kings Projected Lineup
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 19 Alex Iafallo | 11 Anze Kopitar | 23 Dustin Brown |
| 70 Tanner Pearson | 77 Jeff Carter | 73 Tyler Toffoli |
| 14 Michael Cammalleri | 9 Adrian Kempe | 17 Jonny Brodzinski |
| 13 Kyle Clifford | 21 Nick Shore | 22 Trevor Lewis |
| Defense | ||
| 24 Derek Forbort | 8 Drew Doughty | |
| 6 Jake Muzzin | 5 Christian Folin | |
| 56 Kurtis MacDermid | 7 Oscar Fantenberg | |
| Goalie | ||
| 32 Jonathan Quick |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (2016-17: 14th, 20th on road), Kings (2016-17: 15th, 5th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (2016-17: T-19th, 23th on road), Kings (2016-17: 5th, 18th at home)
- Recent History vs. Kings
- Oct. 14, 2016 – Flyers 4, Kings 2
- Feb. 4, 2017 - Kings 1, Flyers 0 – OT
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux is five assists away from 500 in his career.
- Sean Couturier is eight points away from 200 in his career.
- Jakub Voracek is nine points away from 500 in his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
