As the Flyers gear up to close out the home portion of the 2015 calendar year, they prepare to do so against a Vancouver Canucks team that has been sluggish on the road as of late. In their last five road games, the Canucks are 0-3-2 (6-7-5 overall), giving them a hapless start to a six-game road trip that has seen them fall to Chicago and Minnesota so far.
For the second and final time this season (barring, of course, any interesting/unlikely Stanley Cup Final scenarios), the Flyers and Canucks will face off. While the Canucks have faltered lately, the Orange and Black have dropped their last three games against the Canucks (last winning on Dec. 30, 2013), and have not beaten them at home since Oct. 12, 2011 (when the Canucks were the defending Western Conference champions).
The opening face-off from Wells Fargo Center is set for 7 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Canucks Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 31 | 11 | 17 | 28 | Daniel Sedin | 32 | 14 | 20 | 34 |
| Jake Voracek | 31 | 2 | 17 | 19 | Henrik Sedin | 32 | 9 | 22 | 31 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 31 | 7 | 9 | 16 | Alexander Edler | 31 | 6 | 11 | 17 |
| Brayden Schenn | 29 | 7 | 8 | 15 | Jannik Hansen | 32 | 9 | 8 | 17 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 15 | 6 | 5 | 11 | Radim Vrbata | 30 | 9 | 6 | 15 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 33 Henrik Sedin |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, +2 | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, +1 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 25 Jakob Markstrom |
| 5-8-4, 2.93 GAA, .905 SV% | 3-6-1, 3.28 GAA, .876 SV% |
Despite Michal Neuvirth's recent success, Steve Mason is between the pipes for the Flyers on Thursday night. Mason started the Flyers meeting with the Canucks in Vancouver, making 30 saves on 33 shots.
Jakob Markstom, who has firmly entrenched himself as the understudy to Ryan Miller, is expected to start between the pipes for the Canucks. He made five saves on five shots in relief of Miller in Tuesday's loss to the Wild, after Miller let in six goals after two periods.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Mark Streit, Sam Gagner, Vincent Lecavalier, Luke Schenn
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 28 Claude Giroux | 10 Brayden Schenn |
| 93 Jake Voracek | 14 Sean Couturier | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 25 Ryan White |
| 24 Matt Read | 21 Scott Laughton | 20 R.J. Umberger |
| Defense | ||
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| 55 Nick Schultz | 82 Evgeny Medvedev | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
After finding himself in a pair of new territories in Tuesday's win over the Hurricanes — not just on the second line, but on the left wing, to boot — Jakub Voracek was rewarded with a monster effort. Not only did he snap a 13-game goalless drought, he recorded points on three of the four Flyer goals.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (25th, 28th at home), Canucks (17th, 21st on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th, 19th at home), Canucks (24th, 26th on road)
- The Flyers fell 4-1 in their first meeting of the season against the Canucks. Claude Giroux scored the lone Flyers goal, while Steve Mason saved 30 of 33 shots.
- Flyers leaders vs. Canucks
- Claude Giroux – 9 games, 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points
- Michael Raffl - 5 games, 1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points
- Jakub Voracek - 18 games, 1 goal, 9 assists, 10 points
- Steve Mason – 16 games, 5-8-2, 3.23 GAA, .898 SV%
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61.
