Flyers-Bruins: Game 26 Preview

Kevin Durso

December 2 2017

(Kate Frese/SB Nation)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

It's been four days since everything came to a head following the Flyers ninth straight loss. That led to a closed-door meeting by the players and the GM defending his team and his coach.

So now comes the response to all of this. With three days off between games, the Flyers have had time to let this sit and stir up a fan base that can't make much sense of the direction of this team. GM Ron Hextall's comments on Tuesday were pretty clear though. "We've got to win Saturday."

Saturday is upon us, and the Flyers will look to start to right the ship by hosting the Boston Bruins. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Boston Bruins	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	25	7	23	30	David Pastrnak	23	12	9	21
Claude Giroux	25	11	17	28	Brad Marchand	15	8	9	17
Sean Couturier	25	14	12	26	Torey Krug	19	4	10	14
Shayne Gostisbehere	22	3	16	19	Patrice Bergeron	18	5	8	13
Wayne Simmonds	25	7	7	14	Charlie McAvoy	23	3	10	13

Player to Watch
40 Jordan Weal	73 Charlie McAvoy
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +4

Jordan Weal re-enters the lineup for the first time since Nov. 24. The Flyers forward was slumping leading into the game and had actually been relegated to the fourth line for a time before sitting as a healthy scratch for two games. Back in the lineup, he'll return to the second line with Nolan Patrick and Wayne Simmonds, looking to make an impact.

The Flyers aren't the only team with highly-touted prospects. The Bruins have several of their own, but one has stood out among the rest. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy was a college standout and starred at World Juniors last year. With his rookie season well underway, the Bruins blueliner hasn't disappointed.

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	40 Tuukka Rask
6-5-6, 2.96 GAA, .905 SV%	4-8-2, 2.84 GAA, .899 SV%

It's been a rough go for Brian Elliott of late. He's started seven games on the Flyers nine-game losing streak and played in eight games all without being on the right side of the result. His last few games have seen his GAA inflate noticeably. Elliott has allowed at least four goals in each of his last four starts, including five in three games. But his struggles aren't completely on him. In his most recent defeat against Pittsburgh on Monday, Elliott made a career-high 47 saves on 52 shots.

It's been a bit of a rough season for Tuukka Rask, who has a 4-8-2 record and .899 save percentage in 14 games this season, not typical of the Boston netminder. Rask has just two starts since Nov. 15 and snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday, making 19 saves in a win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Rask's career numbers against the Flyers are outrageous, with a 12-2-3 record and a 2.10 GAA.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Radko Gudas, Taylor Leier, Mark Alt

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
40 Jordan Weal	19 Nolan Patrick	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	51 Valtteri Filppula	11 Travis Konecny
22 Dale Weise	21 Scott Laughton	15 Jori Lehtera
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
6 Travis Sanheim	23 Brandon Manning
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Based on Friday's practice, Jordan Weal will slot back into the lineup on the second line. Jori Lehtera and Dale Weise are also expected to be part of the lineup again. Radko Gudas remains a scratch while serving his suspension and Taylor Leier will be the extra forward.

A last-minute addition to the roster is Mark Alt, called up from the Phantoms on Saturday morning. The Flyers are headed on a three-game Western Canada trip starting on Monday, so this could just be precautionary ahead of that.

Bruins Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jake DeBrusk, Adam McQuaid, Peter Cehlarik, David Krejci

Scratches: Paul Postma, Matt Beleskey, Frank Vatrano

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
63 Brad Marchand	37 Patrice Bergeron	88 David Pastrnak
51 Ryan Spooner	46 David Krejci	10 Anders Bjork
43 Danton Heinen	20 Riley Nash	42 David Backes
59 Tim Schaller	52 Sean Kuraly	55 Noel Acciari
Defense
33 Zdeno Chara	73 Charlie McAvoy
47 Torey Krug	25 Brandon Carlo
48 Matt Grzelcyk	86 Kevan Miller
Goalie
40 Tuukka Rask

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (16th, 25th at home), Bruins (T-17th, 17th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-28th, 28th at home), Bruins (7th, 8th on road)
Recent History vs. Bruins
- Nov. 29, 2016 – Flyers 3, Bruins 2 (SO)
- Jan. 14, 2017 – Bruins 6, Flyers 3
- March 11, 2017 – Bruins 2, Flyers 1
Flyers Leaders vs. Bruins
- Claude Giroux – 30 GP, 7 G, 16 A, 23 P
- Jake Voracek – 22 GP, 5 G, 14 A, 19 P
- Wayne Simmonds – 24 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 P
- Brian Elliott – 13 GP, 3-6-3, 3.16 GAA