Flyers-Jets: Game 49 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers last took the ice on Jan. 19 for a game in Montreal, coming away with a 5-2 win and heading into the bye week and All-Star break on a three-game winning streak. For a team that has wanted to get rolling for so long, it couldn't have come at a worse time.

The team returns to the ice on Monday, though, ready to return to game action. Their first opponent is one of the top teams in the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets, who enter tied for the Central Division lead.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Winnipeg Jets GP G A P
Claude Giroux 48 14 38 52 Blake Wheeler 48 9 52 61
Sean Couturier 46 19 20 39 Mark Scheifele 48 25 34 59
Jake Voracek 48 11 28 39 Kyle Connor 48 19 19 38
Travis Konecny 48 12 14 26 Patrik Laine 48 25 9 34
Wayne Simmonds 48 15 8 23 Bryan Little 48 11 18 29
 
Player to Watch
19 Nolan Patrick 55 Mark Scheifele
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, +5 Last 5 Games: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, E
 
Nolan Patrick notched a pair of multi-goal games last week against Minnesota and Montreal, and that has him playing with some real confidence as the season turns to the second half. Getting that confidence to carry over is very important to his development as an athlete.
 
Mark Scheifele returns from his first All-Star Game, tied for the team lead with 25 goals. He also has three goals and seven assists in the last nine games. Scheifele has also constantly hurt the Flyers. He had three assists in the first meeting between the two teams this season and has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 10 career games against the Flyers.
 
Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 30 Laurent Brossoit
12 GP, 6-5-1, 2.66 GAA, .918 SV% 12 GP, 10-1-1, 2.01 GAA, .943 SV%

Back from a brief tune-up in the minors, Carter Hart is ready to go and looks to pick up where he left off before the break. He's won his last three starts and four of the last five, making at least 33 saves in all four wins.

Laurent Brossoit has been stellar when called upon as the Jets backup, winning 10 of his 12 starts, including the last seven. He allowed three or more goals in the first four games of that streak, but in his last three, he has allowed just three goals combined, including a 40-save shutout over Vancouver.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Christian Folin

Left Wing Center Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk 28 Claude Giroux 11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton 19 Nolan Patrick 17 Wayne Simmonds
44 Phil Varone 44 Phil Varone 12 Michael Raffl
Defense    
9 Ivan Provorov 6 Travis Sanheim  
53 Shayne Gostisbehere 47 Andrew MacDonald  
8 Robert Hagg 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
79 Carter Hart    

Lineup Notes

With the changes made to the roster on Sunday, the Flyers altered the fourth line with Mikhail Vorobyev slotting in at center and Phil Varone moving to the wing. Jori Lehtera will come out of the lineup.

Jets Projected Lineup

Injuries: Dustin Byfuglien, Nikolaj Ehlers, Ben Chiarot

Scratches: Nic Petan 

Left Wing Center Right Wing
81 Kyle Connor 55 Mark Scheifele 26 Blake Wheeler
29 Patrik Laine 18 Bryan Little 28 Jack Roslovic
85 Mathieu Perreault 17 Adam Lowry 13 Brandon Tanev
48 Brendan Lemieux 9 Andrew Copp 82 Mason Appleton
Defense    
44 Josh Morrissey 8 Jacob Trouba  
5 Dmitry Kulikov 57 Tyler Myers  
83 Sami Niku 70 Joe Morrow  
Goalie    
30 Laurent Brossoit    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (29th, T-21st at home), Jets (4th, T-23rd on road)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 22nd at home), Jets (11th, 8th on road) 
  • Recent History vs. Jets
    • Nov. 16, 2017 – Jets 3, Flyers 2 (F/SO) (at WPG)
    • March 10, 2018 – Flyers 2, Jets 1 (at PHI)
    • Dec. 9, 2018 – Jets 7, Flyers 1 (at WPG)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Jets
    • Claude Giroux – 28 GP, 8 G, 19 A, 27 P
    • Jake Voracek – 22 GP, 6 G, 13 A, 19 P
    • James van Riemsdyk – 25 GP, 4 G, 13 A, 17 P
  • Milestone Watch
    • Travis Konecny is playing in his 200th NHL game tonight.
    • Radko Gudas needs two points to reach 100 for his career.

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

Go to top button