Flyers-Sharks: Game 1 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

It's a clean slate for the Flyers as the 2017-18 season begins on the West coast.

The Flyers return to the ice to start a new season with many fresh faces in the lineup. They face the San Jose Sharks to open the season.

The opening face-off is set for 10:30 p.m.

Team Leaders (2016-17)

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P San Jose Sharks GP G A P
Jake Voracek 82 20 41 61 Brent Burns 82 29 47 76
Claude Giroux 82 14 44 58 Joe Pavelski 81 29 39 68
Wayne Simmonds 82 31 23 54 Logan Couture 73 25 27 52
Valtteri Filppula 79 12 30 42 Joe Thornton 79 7 43 50
Shayne Gostisbehere 76 7 32 39 Joel Ward 78 10 19 29
 
Player to Watch
19 Nolan Patrick 88 Brent Burns
Last 5 Games: N/A Last 5 Games: N/A
 
In his first NHL game, all eyes will be on Nolan Patrick as he officially debuts with the Orange and Black after being the second overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. The 19-year-old had three assists in seven games in the preseason and played a steady two-way game on a line with Wayne Simmonds and Jordan Weal.
 
So much of the Sharks success starts with Brent Burns. The elite defenseman led the offense with 76 points in the 2016-17 season and tallied 29 goals. He's dangerous in all situations.
 

Injuries:

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott 31 Martin Jones
2016-17: 26-18-3, 2.55 GAA, .910 SV% 2016-17: 35-23-6, 2.40 GAA, .912 SV%

The Flyers only real splash of free agency was adding veteran goalie Brian Elliott. Elliott makes his debut with the Flyers in the season opener, looking to rebound from an inconsistent season with the Flames in 2016-17.

Martin Jones goes between the pipes for the Sharks. Jones was solid in goal in his second NHL season as a full-time starter, appearing in 65 games and posting 35 wins.

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    
37 Brian Elliott    

Lineup Notes

By virtue of the morning skate, it seems like it is no question that the Flyers forward lines remain the same as they were for Sunday's preseason finale. The top two lines remained intact as they did for much of the preseason, which the third and fourth lines used on Sunday are also still in place on Wednesday. Jori Lehtera is the extra forward.

Based on the skate, Sam Morin and Travis Sanheim were on the extra pair, which usually indicates that they would be healthy scratches for the game. But Dave Hakstol was mum on an official lineup, so while it can be assumed they are scratched, that may change. Shayne Gostisbehere is expected to be in the lineup, despite dealing with an upper-body injury following Sunday's game. He said on Tuesday he was "good to go" for Wednesday's opener.

Sharks Projected Lineup

Left Wing Center Right Wing
62 Kevin Labanc 19 Joe Thornton 8 Joe Pavelski
89 Mikkel Boedker 39 Logan Couture 27 Joonas Donskoi
28 Timo Meier 48 Tomas Hertl 36 Jannik Hansen
68 Melker Karlsson 50 Chris Tierney 42 Joel Ward
Defense    
7 Paul Martin 88 Brent Burns  
44 Marc-Edouard Vlasic 61 Justin Braun  
4 Brenden Dillon 74 Dylan DeMelo  
Goalie    
31 Martin Jones    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (2016-17: 14th, 20th on road), Sharks (2016-17: 25th, T-17th at home)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (2016-17: T-19th, 23th on road), Sharks (2016-17: T-17th, 21st at home) 
  • Recent History vs. Sharks
    • Dec. 30, 2016 – Sharks 2, Flyers 0
    • Feb. 11, 2017 - Flyers 2, Sharks 1 (OT)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Sharks
    • Claude Giroux - 13 GP, 6 G, 4 A, 10 P
    • Ivan Provorov – 2 GP, 1 G, 0 A, 1 P
    • Valtteri Filppula – 31 GP, 4 G, 11 A, 15 P
    • Brian Elliott – 13 GP, 6-4-1, 2.56 GAA 
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux needs two goals to move into 15th all-time in Flyers history. Giroux also needs one assist to move into fourth all-time in Flyers history, and four assists to reach 400 for his career.
    • Wayne Simmonds needs two points to reach 400 in his career and four assists to reach 200 in his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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