Flyers-Senators: Game 77 Preview

Role reversal for Flyers and Senators in late-season matchup

Kate Frese/Flyerdelphia

Separation in the standings was only temporary. As the schedule turns to Saturday, the Philadelphia Flyers (38-25-13) are in need of more points to restore any cushion in the standings.

The opponent on Saturday is an interesting one for the Flyers. Last season, it was the Ottawa Senators (36-33-9) who were riding the wave of incredible late-season success into the playoffs.

This time, the Flyers are trying to be that team and get a tough test in the Senators, one of those teams already eliminated with nothing else to play for but pride.

Faceoff between the Flyers and Senators is set for 1 p.m.

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Senators Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	73	22	43	65	Erik Karlsson	78	15	63	78
Brayden Schenn	74	25	29	54	Mark Stone	75	23	38	61
Wayne Simmonds	76	26	27	53	Bobby Ryan	77	22	33	55
Jakub Voracek	67	10	40	50	Mike Hoffman	74	27	27	54
Shayne Gostisbehere	58	16	26	42	Mika Zibanejad	77	18	29	47

Player to Watch
10 Brayden Schenn	68 Mike Hoffman
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, +1	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, E

The Flyers top line certainly had a lot of hunger to get a goal on Wednesday and all three members factored into the game-tying goal, which came on the power play. Brayden Schenn is just looking to build on a career-high in goals, breaking the 25-goal mark, and points.

Mike Hoffman is the leading scorer on a young Senators team that went from having a playoff run for the ages to being out of the playoffs the next year. Despite that, Hoffman is a talented young player who can get the scorer's touch at any time.

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	30 Andrew Hammond
21-17-9, 2.52 GAA, .918 SV%	6-9-4, 2.64 GAA, .913 SV%

Steve Mason stood tall again on Wednesday night and this time that success carried into the shootout for a crucial two points. Mason makes his 12th start in the last 13 games and the Flyers are again looking for a crucial two points.

Andrew Hammond makes just his 22nd appearance of the season. The hotshot goalie from a season ago, so important to the Senators stretch run, has struggled this season. Hammond got a win in the season finale against the Flyers last season, but has not faced the Flyers yet this season. Hammond has just three wins in his last 10 starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Scott Laughton, Evgeny Medvedev, 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
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz	32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

There are no lineup changes again for the Flyers, who will use the same lineup as in the last two games.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (T-18th, T-24th at home), Senators (T-28th, 10th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th, 21st at home), Senators (29th, T-27th on road)
Recent History vs. Senators
- Nov. 21, 2015 – The Flyers fell to the Senators, 4-0, in Ottawa. The Flyers were shut out for the second straight game as Craig Anderson made 36 saves. Mika Zibanejad, Mike Hoffman, Milan Michalek and Kyle Turris scored for Ottawa. Steve Mason made 27 saves in the loss.
- Dec. 1, 2015 – The Flyers avenged the shutout loss from less than two weeks earlier to score a 4-2 win over the Senators in Ottawa. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Shayne Gostisbehere, but the Senators tied the game late in the first on a goal by Zack Smith. Evgeny Medvedev's first NHL goal gave the Flyers the lead early in the second, but Mike Hoffman answered just 66 seconds later to tie things up again. Wayne Simmonds scored with 3:25 remaining in the second to give the Flyers the lead and Sean Couturier iced the game with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes. Steve Mason made 23 saves in the win while Craig Anderson made 28 saves in the loss.
Flyers leaders vs. Senators

Claude Giroux – 26 games, 4 goals, 13 assists, 17 points
Jake Voracek – 18 games, 8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points
Wayne Simmonds – 17 games, 7 goals, 6 assists, 13 points
Steve Mason – 12 games, 7-4-1, 2.14 GAA, .930 Sv%

Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs 1 assist to reach 100 in his career.

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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

Flyers-Senators: Game 77 Preview

Kevin Durso

Role reversal for Flyers and Senators in late-season matchup

Kevin Durso

Kevin Durso

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