(Photo: Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Thanksgiving is in the rear-view mirror and as a benchmark for evaluating where is team is and how their season could end up, the Flyers are far from ideal position.
As they enter Game 22 of the season, the Black Friday matinee against the New York Rangers, the Flyers are last in the Metropolitan Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference and 28th in the league standings. This is all while riding a four-game losing streak. And the road doesn't get easier.
The Rangers come into Friday's game on a 9-1-1 stretch over their last 11 games.
Game time is at 1 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | New York Rangers | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 21 | 8 | 17 | 25 | Chris Kreider | 22 | 12 | 8 | 20 |
| Jake Voracek | 21 | 5 | 12 | 17 | Mika Zibanejad | 22 | 7 | 12 | 19 |
| Sean Couturier | 21 | 8 | 7 | 15 | Kevin Hayes | 22 | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 21 | 9 | 3 | 12 | Neal Pionk | 20 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Travis Konecny | 21 | 5 | 6 | 11 | Brett Howden | 21 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 17 Wayne Simmonds | 93 Mika Zibanejad |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 2 P, -2 | Last 5 Games: 0 G, 4 A, 4 P, -1 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 33 Cal Pickard | 30 Henrik Lundqvist |
| 3-1-2, 4.13 GAA, .858 SV% | 8-6-2, 2.61 GAA, .919 SV% |
Cal Pickard figures to get the start on Friday after coming on in relief of Alex Lyon on Wednesday. Pickard stopped all eight shots faced in the remaining 40 minutes of Wednesday's loss to Buffalo. In his last start, Pickard allowed six goals on 26 shots to Tampa Bay in an overtime loss.
Henrik Lundqvist has been solid of late with wins in three of his last four games, allowing four goals in the three wins. He did allow five goals to the Islanders in a start on Nov. 15, but otherwise, he's looked more like the King Henrik of old.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Michael Raffl, Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Andrew MacDonald
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 22 Dale Weise | 19 Nolan Patrick | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 25 James van Riemsdyk | 40 Jordan Weal | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 23 Oskar Lindblom | 21 Scott Laughton | 39 Tyrell Goulbourne |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 8 Robert Hagg | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 26 Christian Folin | |
| 6 Travis Sanheim | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 33 Cal Pickard |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers made a roster move on Thanksgiving, sending Nicolas Aube-Kubel back to the Phantoms and bringing Tyrell Goulbourne back to the NHL roster. Goulbourne slots into the lineup for Jori Lehtera.
Rangers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Pavel Buchnevich, Adam McQuaid, Cody McLeod
Scratches: Brendan Smith
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 20 Chris Kreider | 13 Kevin Hayes | 90 Vladislav Namestnikov |
| 36 Mats Zuccarello | 93 Mika Zibanejad | 17 Jesper Fast |
| 26 Jimmy Vesey | 21 Brett Howden | 16 Ryan Strome |
| 72 Filip Chytil | 50 Lias Andersson | 38 Steven Fogarty |
| Defense | ||
| 18 Marc Staal | 44 Neal Pionk | |
| 33 Fredrik Claesson | 22 Kevin Shattenkirk | |
| 76 Brady Skjei | 77 Anthony DeAngelo | |
| Goalie | ||
| 30 Henrik Lundqvist |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (25th, T-23rd at home), Rangers (T-14th, 7th on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 31st at home), Rangers (22nd, 30th on road)
- Recent History vs. Rangers
- Jan. 16, 2018 – Rangers 5, Flyers 1 (at NYR)
- Feb. 18, 2018 – Flyers 7, Rangers 4 (at NYR)
- March 22, 2018 – Flyers 4, Rangers 3 (at PHI)
- April 7, 2018 – Flyers 5, Rangers 0 (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Rangers
- Claude Giroux – 49 GP, 10 G, 35 A, 45 P
- Jake Voracek – 35 GP, 13 G, 14 A, 27 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 12 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 8 P
- Cal Pickard – 2 GP, 0-2-0, 4.54 GAA, .864 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs one assist to pass Brian Propp for 2nd all-time in Flyers history.
- James van Riemsdyk needs three points to reach 400 in his career.
- Christian Folin is playing in his 200th NHL game today.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
