Flyers-Golden Knights: Game 70 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Saturday finally marked the end of a five-game losing streak for the Flyers, who managed to find a way to win against a difficult opponent in Winnipeg.

Their next game is the final one in a series of tough tests, as they face the Vegas Golden Knights, making their first trip to Philadelphia in franchise history.

Game time is set for 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Vegas Golden Knights GP G A P
Claude Giroux 69 24 57 81 Jonathan Marchessault 65 22 43 65
Jake Voracek 69 16 58 74 William Karlsson 68 35 26 61
Sean Couturier 69 29 34 63 David Perron 62 16 45 61
Shayne Gostisbehere 65 10 40 50 Reilly Smith 66 22 38 60
Wayne Simmonds 62 20 18 38 Erik Haula 63 24 22 46
 
Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier 71 William Karlsson
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, -1 Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +1
 
Sean Couturier has hit a bit of a wall offensively. He has gone 11 games without a goal and has just five assists in the time. Currently, Couturier is on a four-game pointless drought. Having been stuck on 29 goals for 11 games, perhaps this is the time for Couturier to break out of his slump. Against Vegas on Feb. 11, Couturier scored a goal and added two assists.
 
William Karlsson has been a surprise star for the Golden Knights this season. His new career-high of 35 goals ranks sixth in the league and he plays in all situations, making him a constant presence for Vegas.
 
Goalie Matchup
34 Petr Mrazek 29 Marc-Andre Fleury
12-10-4, 2.87 GAA, .907 SV% 24-9-3, 2.16 GAA, .930 SV%

After a four-game losing streak of his own, Petr Mrazek was back between the pipes for the Flyers on Saturday and delivered his best start in over a week, making 27 saves while looking very poised and confident. Mrazek will likely be back in goal for the Flyers on Monday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury has been pretty solid of late, winning three of his last four starts and allowing just six goals in that time. He posted a 28-save shutout against Detroit on Thursday and stopped 31 of 32 shots against Buffalo in a shootout win on Saturday. Fleury was in goal when the Flyers faced Vegas on Feb. 11, allowing three goals on 17 shots in a loss.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth, Robert Hagg, Johnny Oduya

Scratches: Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Taylor Leier

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 14 Sean Couturier 11 Travis Konecny
54 Oskar Lindblom 19 Nolan Patrick 93 Jake Voracek
12 Michael Raffl 51 Valtteri Filppula 17 Wayne Simmonds
15 Jori Lehtera 21 Scott Laughton 24 Matt Read
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
6 Travis Sanheim 47 Andrew MacDonald  
23 Brandon Manning 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
34 Petr Mrazek    

Lineup Notes

The Flyers will likely go with the same lineup as on Saturday. Johnny Oduya skated on Sunday, but remains day-to-day. 

Golden Knights Projected Lineup

Injuries: Reilly Smith, Will Carrier, Malcolm Subban, Luca Sbisa, James Neal, Oscar Lindberg

Scratches: Jon Merrill, Zach Whitecloud

Left Wing Center Right Wing
81 Jonathan Marchessault 71 William Karlsson 90 Tomas Tatar
57 David Perron 56 Erik Haula 38 Tomas Hyka
40 Ryan Carpenter 21 Cody Eakin 89 Alex Tuch
92 Tomas Nosek 41 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 75 Ryan Reaves
Defense    
3 Brayden McNabb 88 Nate Schmidt  
27 Shea Theodore 5 Derek Engelland  
6 Colin Miller 77 Brad Hunt  
Goalie    
29 Marc-Andre Fleury    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-17th, 22nd at home), Golden Knights (11th, 19th on road)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th, 29th at home), Golden Knights (15th, 15th on road) 
  • Recent History vs. Golden Knights
    • Feb. 11, 2018 – Flyers 4, Golden Knights 1 (at VGK)
  • Milestone Watch
    • Sean Couturier needs one goal to reach 100 for his career.
    • Jake Voracek needs four assists to reach 300 as a Flyer.
    • Claude Giroux needs four points to pass Eric Lindros for 5th all-time in Flyers history.

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

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