Game 21 Preview: Flyers take on Red Wings in showdown in Motown

 

 

The Flyers will look to get back in the win column tonight as they head to Detroit for a showdown with the Red Wings. The Flyers (8-9-3) are coming off a 1-0 shootout loss in Long Island on Monday. Detroit (11-5-5) is coming off a 4-3 win at home against the Ottawa Senators. Game time is 7:30.

Steve Mason is coming off his best outing of the year. The Flyers goalie made 46 saves in Monday's loss. He officially earned his first shutout of the year in the process.

Offensively, the Flyers never really got going. They had some stretches where they controlled the puck but never really threatened New York consistently. 

After not registering a point on Monday, Jakub Voracek is now tied with Sidney Crosby for the scoring lead with 29 points. Voracek still leads the league in assists with 22.

The Flyers top line of Brayden Schenn, Claude Giroux and Voracek, has played extremely well since being put together in the Montreal game a little under three weeks ago. Unfortunately for the Flyers, the other lines are not consistently carrying their weight.

The scoring depth is extremely lacking after the top three. The lone exception recently was last Saturday against Columbus when four different players scored. That game was also the lone win in the team's last six games.

Detroit is currently tied for third in the Atlantic Division with 27 points. Henrik Zetterberg leads the team with 4 goals and 14 assists. Justin Abdelkader is second on the team with 6 goals and 8 assists. 

Gustav Nyquist leads the team with 10 goals.

Jimmy Howard has once again been solid between the pipes. The Detroit netminder is 9-4-4 with a 2.09 goals against and a .920 save percentage. He did not play in the team's first meeting back in Philadelphia earlier this year.

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (7th, 25th on road), Red Wings (12th, 11th at home) 
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 30th on road), Red Wings (2nd, 3rd at home) 
  • This is the second of three meetings between the two clubs this season and the lone game in Detroit. The Flyers won the first matchup 4-2 in Philadelphia back in October. 
  • Milestone Watch: R.J. Umberger needs one assist for 200 in his career.

Flyers scratches: Michael Raffl, Chris VandeVelde, Carlo Colaiacovo, Jason Akeson

Flyers Projected Lineup

Line 1: Brayden Schenn-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Wayne Simmonds-Sean Couturier-Matt Read
Line 3: Vincent Lecavalier-Scott Laughton-R.J. Umberger
Line 4: Zac RinaldoPierre-Edouard Bellemare

D-Pair 1: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Braydon Coburn-Michael Del Zotto
D-Pair 3: Andrew MacDonald-Like Schenn

Extra D-Man Nick Schultz

 

Goalie: Steve Mason

Where to Watch
TV: TCN

Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow BIll on twitter @wtfd103074

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