Steve Kuzma/Flyerdelphia
They are all playoff games for the Flyers, but Wednesday night's game might as well be the Super Bowl.
For two playoff hopefuls yet to lock in a spot, Wednesday night is a head-to-head showdown that will have one team on the cusp of clinching and another on the bubble. The Philadelphia Flyers (39-26-13) have played well to get to this point, but wear and tear start to set in soon enough. With four games in the final five days of the season, this is where they must dig deep.
The Detroit Red Wings (40-28-11) are looking to extend a 24-year playoff streak that defines the history of the Original Six franchise. Missing the playoffs for this team isn't an option given that history, and with home ice and three games to go, they will be extra motivated to take care of business.
Faceoff between the Flyers and Red Wings is set for 8 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Red Wigns Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 75 | 22 | 44 | 66 | Pavel Datsyuk | 63 | 16 | 32 | 48 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 78 | 29 | 28 | 57 | Henrik Zetterberg | 79 | 13 | 35 | 48 |
| Brayden Schenn | 76 | 25 | 31 | 56 | Dylan Larkin | 77 | 23 | 22 | 45 |
| Jakub Voracek | 69 | 11 | 42 | 53 | Tomas Tatar | 78 | 21 | 24 | 45 |
| Shayne Gostisbehere | 60 | 16 | 27 | 43 | Gustav Nyquist | 79 | 17 | 25 | 42 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 17 Wayne Simmonds | 15 Riley Sheahan |
| Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, E | Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, +4 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 35 Jimmy Howard |
| 22-18-9, 2.53 GAA, .918 SV% | 13-12-5, 2.81 GAA, .906 SV% |
Steve Mason continues to try to carry the Flyers to the playoffs. He makes another start in goal, this time looking to rebound from a loss. Mason had been excellent in three straight wins for the Flyers last week, and will need that kind of performance on Wednesday in Detroit.
Jimmy Howard has been the Red Wings go-to guy in net of late and he's kept them right on pace with the Flyers. Howard has wins in three of his last four games, allowing two goals in all of them. His only loss in those four games came in relief, when he replaced Petr Mrazek in Montreal, but still took the loss after allowing two third-period goals. This is only his 35th appearance of the season.
Scratches: Scott Laughton, Andrew MacDonald, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Michael Del Zotto
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 14 Sean Couturier | 89 Sam Gagner |
| 93 Jake Voracek | 52 Nick Cousins | 24 Matt Read |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 25 Ryan White |
| Defense | ||
| 23 Brandon Manning | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| 55 Nick Schultz | 32 Mark Streit | |
| 82 Evgeny Medvedev | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Andrew MacDonald's status for Wednesday's game is unknown after suffering an upper-body injury on Sunday, but he did travel with the team and practiced on Tuesday after originally being ruled out Wednesday. If MacDonald can't go, Evgeny Medvedev will go back into the lineup.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-14th, T-11th on road), Red Wings (11th, 24th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (22nd, 17th on road), Red Wings (15th, 9th at home)
- Recent History vs. Red Wings
- Jan. 18, 2016 - The Flyers defeated the Red Wings, 2-1, in a shootout in Detroit. Claude Giroux scored early in the third to tie the game. Shayne Gostisbehere appeared to score in the final seconds, but the goal was disallowed for goalie interference and the game would go to overtime and eventually a shootout. Pavel Datsyuk scored for Detroit first in the shootout, but Giroux and Jake Voracek each scored in the final two rounds to seal a win for the Flyers. Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves in the win.
- March 16, 2016 – The Flyers defeated the Red Wings, 4-3, in Philadelphia. The Flyers roared out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Michael Raffl and Wayne Simmonds. Andreas Athanasiou scored early in the second to cut the lead to one, but Raffl's second goal gave the Flyers a 3-1 lead. Pavel Datsyuk made it a one-goal game again. Shayne Gostisbehere scored with 1:07 left in the second to again restore the two-goal lead and the Flyers held off a late rally from Detroit, including a goal by Tomas Tatar with 3:46 to play. Steve Mason made 34 saves in the win.
- Flyers leaders vs. Red Wings
- Claude Giroux – 13 games, 6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points
- Michael Raffl – 8 games, 4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points
- Jake Voracek – 26 games, 4 goals, 13 assists, 17 points
- Steve Mason – 25 games, 12-11-2, 2.76 GAA, .919 Sv%
Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
