Flyers-Oilers: Game 28 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Edmonton Oilers	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	27	7	26	33	Connor McDavid	27	11	21	32
Claude Giroux	27	11	17	28	Milan Lucic	27	5	14	19
Sean Couturier	27	14	13	27	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	27	10	9	19
Shayne Gostisbehere	24	3	17	20	Leon Draisaitl	23	7	12	19
Wayne Simmonds	27	8	7	15	Patrick Maroon	27	8	7	15

 

Player to Watch
12 Michael Raffl	97 Connor McDavid
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, +3	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +1

 

Michael Raffl was among the Flyers best forwards on Monday night and has been finally getting the points to go along with some solid play throughout the season. Raffl had a goal and an assist in Monday's win and had the same stat line in the previous week's game in Pittsburgh. With four of his five points on the season coming in the last five games and the benefit of having Jake Voracek as a new linemate, things have been looking up for Raffl.

 

It's been a very good season for Connor McDavid as expected, but with the Oilers struggling as a whole, his numbers have often been lost in the shuffle. He has just one goal in his last seven games. That said, it's everything else about McDavid — his speed, his skill, his playmaking ability — that make him so dangerous, especially on the Oilers power play.

 

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	1 Laurent Brossoit
7-6-6, 2.93 GAA, .908 SV%	1-4-1, 3.80 GAA, .872 SV%

Brian Elliott was excellent in Monday's win, making 43 saves on 45 shots against his former team in Calgary. With Michal Neuvirth now going on IR, it's Elliott's net for the long haul. He'll get the start in Edmonton.

With Cam Talbot on IR, the Oilers have to lean on Laurent Brossoit in goal. And, well, that hasn't exactly been a recipe of success for the Oilers. Brossiot did get the win in his last start, but still allowed five goals in a wild 7-5 win for the Oilers, making 29 saves on 34 shots. Brossiot has eight appearances this season, three in relief of Talbot. In the six games where he has played more than 50 minutes, he has allowed five goals or more four times. Regardless, he's the man in goal for the Oilers while they wait for Talbot to return.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Brandon Manning

Scratches: Radko Gudas, Jori Lehtera, T.J. Brennan

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	51 Valtteri Filppula	93 Jake Voracek
22 Dale Weise	19 Nolan Patrick	11 Travis Konecny
20 Taylor Leier	21 Scott Laughton	40 Jordan Weal
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
6 Travis Sanheim	39 Mark Alt
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

The forward lines are expected to remain the same as in Monday's game. That would leave Jori Lehtera as the extra forward.

Defensively, Mark Alt will step in for the injured Brandon Manning with the newly-recalled T.J. Brennan serving as a healthy scratch. 

Oilers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Cam Talbot, Adam Larsson, Andrej Sekera

Scratches: Anton Slepyshev, Nathan Walker, Brandon Davidson

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
27 Milan Lucici	97 Connor McDavid	98 Jesse Puljujarvi
19 Patrick Maroon	93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	13 Michael Cammalleri
91 Drake Caggiula	29 Leon Draisaitl	18 Ryan Strome
16 Jujhar Khaira	55 Mark Letestu	44 Zack Kassian
Defense
25 Darnell Nurse	4 Kris Russell
77 Oscar Klefbom	83 Matt Benning
81 Yohann Auvitu	62 Eric Gryba
Goalie
1 Laurent Brossiot

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (18th, 11th on road), Oilers (22nd, 13th at home)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (27th, 20th on road), Oilers (31st, 31st at home) 
• Recent History vs. Oilers
  • Oct. 21, 2017 – Flyers 2, Oilers 1
• Flyers Leaders vs. Oilers
  • Claude Giroux – 12 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 13 P
  • Jake Voracek – 21 GP, 4 G, 16 A, 20 P
  • Wayne Simmonds – 21 GP, 6 G, 7 A, 13 P
  • Brian Elliott – 17 GP, 10-6-1, 2.49 GAA
• Milestone Watch
  • Michael Raffl needs three points to reach 100 in his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic