Game 25 Preview: Flyers return to Ottawa looking for revenge

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Senators Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	24	8	11	19	Erik Karlsson	23	5	21	26
Jake Voracek	24	1	12	13	Bobby Ryan	23	8	13	21
Wayne Simmonds	24	5	7	12	Mike Hoffman	19	10	11	21
Brayden Schenn	22	6	3	9	Mark Stone	21	5	16	21
Scott Laughton	24	3	5	8	Kyle Turris	23	11	9	20

 

Player to Watch
17 Wayne Simmonds	68 Mike Hoffman
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 5 G, 2 A, 7 P, +3

 

Wayne Simmonds is coming off his best game of the season. In addition to his point production, two goals and one assist, Simmonds was the most dominant player on the ice, helping to get the second line on the board three times in the game. Having boosted his point total by three in one game, look for Simmonds to be a driving force moving forward.

 

Starting with a goal against the Flyers on Nov. 21, Mike Hoffman has five goals in his last four games, bringing his total to 10 on the season. One year removed from a 27-goal rookie season, Hoffman is picking up where he left off a season ago and proving to be a focal point of the Senators offense.

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	41 Craig Anderson
4-7-4, 2.78 GAA, .911 SV%	10-5-3, 2.78 GAA, .916 SV%

Coming off a 24-save shutout against the Rangers, Steve Mason returns as the starter on Tuesday night. Mason was in goal against the Senators on Nov. 21, and stopped 27 of 31 shots in the Flyers 4-0 loss.

The Senators turn to Craig Anderson, who had a 36-save shutout against the Flyers on Nov. 21. Anderson has been solid as the Senators primary starter in the absences of rookie sensation.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: R.J. Umberger, Mark Streit, Sam Gagner, Ryan White, Nick Schultz, Vincent Lecavalier

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl	28 Claude Giroux	10 Brayden Schenn
24 Matt Read	14 Sean Couturier	17 Wayne Simmonds
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	93 Jake Voracek
36 Colin McDonald	21 Scott Laughton	52 Nick Cousins
Defense
15 Michael Del Zotto	3 Radko Gudas
82 Evgeny Medvedev	22 Luke Schenn
23 Brandon Manning	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Despite suffering an upper-body injury that kept him out of the remainder of Saturday's 3-0 win over the Rangers, Nick Schultz practiced on Monday but is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game, marking the return of Brandon Manning. The Flyers will stick with the same lineup that picked up wins over the Predators and Rangers over the weekend, but Ryan White and R.J. Umberger are both skating with the team and drawing closer to a return.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-24th, T-19th on road), Senators (7th, 24th at home) 
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (15th, 12th on road), Senators (19th, 21st at home)
• The Flyers were shut out by the Senators on Nov. 21, 4-0. Craig Anderson made 36 saves for the shutout win. Mike Hoffman had one goal and one assist. Bobby Ryan had two assists. Steve Mason made 27 saves in the loss.
• Flyers leaders vs. Senators
• Jake Voracek – 17 games, 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points
• Claude Giroux – 25 games, 4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points
• Matt Read – 13 games, 4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points
• Steve Mason - 11 games, 6-4-1, 2.15 GAA, .931 SV%
• Milestone Watch: Wayne Simmonds needs two assists to reach 100 as a Flyer and four points to reach 300 for his career.  

Where to Watch
TV: TCN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.