Flyers-Sharks: Game 25 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	San Jose Sharks	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	24	7	22	29	Logan Couture	22	13	6	19
Claude Giroux	24	10	17	27	Tomas Hertl	22	5	9	14
Sean Couturier	24	14	12	26	Joe Thornton	22	3	11	14
Shayne Gostisbehere	21	3	16	19	Joonas Donskoi	22	7	5	12
Wayne Simmonds	24	7	7	14	Joe Pavelski	22	4	7	11

 

Player to Watch
17 Wayne Simmonds	39 Logan Couture
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +2

 

The recent numbers for Wayne Simmonds aren't good. He has just one goal and one assist in the last five games and just five points since Oct. 21. But Simmonds season started on a good note with a hat trick against the Sharks and he also scored the game-winning goal in overtime against them in their visit to Philadelphia last February.

 

Logan Couture has been the Sharks leading scorer this season and scored twice in their last game. He's been a threat in all situations, on both sides of special teams and at even strength. Couture also has four goals and four assists in nine career games against the Flyers.

 

Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth	30 Aaron Dell
2-4-1, 2.59 GAA, .916 SV%	2-3-1, 2.23 GAA, .920 SV%

Monday's loss for Brian Elliott, his seventh straight, wasn't for lack of effort on his part. In fact, the heavy workload is another reason he won't be in net, making 47 saves on 52 shots. That opens the door for Michal Neuvirth to make another start, his first since last Tuesday when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 22 shots to Vancouver.

With Martin Jones dealing with an injury, the Flyers will face Aaron Dell, the Sharks backup. Dell has appeared in just eight games this season, his last being an overtime loss to the Golden Knights on Friday. Dell has two career starts against the Flyers and has fared well, with a 1-0-1 record and a 0.99 GAA. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Radko Gudas, Jordan Weal, Taylor Leier

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
70 Danick Martel	19 Nolan Patrick	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	51 Valtteri Filppula	11 Travis Konecny
22 Dale Weise	21 Scott Laughton	15 Jori Lehtera
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	47 Andrew MacDonald
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
6 Travis Sanheim	23 Brandon Manning
Goalie
30 Michal Neuvirth

Lineup Notes

With no morning skate, assume the Flyers lineup remains the same, though it wouldn't be surprising for either Jordan Weal or Taylor Leier to return to the lineup for either Dale Weise or Jori Lehtera. The rest of the lineup should remain the same.

Sharks Projected Lineup

Injuries: Martin Jones, Paul Martin, Barclay Goodrow

Scratches: Ryan Carpenter, Melker Karlsson, Joakim Ryan

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Timo Meier	19 Joe Thornton	8 Joe Pavelski
27 Joonas Donskoi	39 Logan Couture	48 Tomas Hertl
36 Jannik Hansen	50 Chris Tierney	89 Mikkel Boedker
62 Kevin Labanc	65 Daniel O'Regan	42 Joel Ward
Defense
44 Marc-Edouard Vlasic	61 Justin Braun
4 Brenden Dillon	88 Brent Burns
72 Tim Heed	74 Dylan DeMelo
Goalie
30 Aaron Dell

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-16th, 23rd at home), Sharks (24th, 28th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 28th at home), Sharks (2nd, 5th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Sharks
  • Oct. 4, 2017 – Flyers 5, Sharks 3
• Flyers Leaders vs. Sharks
  • Claude Giroux – 14 GP, 7 G, 4 A, 11 P
  • Travis Konecny – 1 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 P
  • Wayne Simmonds – 27 GP, 9 G, 4 A, 13 P
  • Michal Neuvirth – 6 GP, 2-3-0, 2.26 GAA

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic