Flyers-Canucks: Game 53 Preview

11-21-2017_FlyersvsCanucks_2ndedit_credKateFrese-22

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers reached seven straight wins in a wild way on Saturday, rallying from a two-goal deficit to force overtime and emerging victorious, 5-4.

With seven straight wins in the books, the Flyers continue a five-game homestand with sights set on eight in a row, hosting the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night.

There is also some history on the line on Monday. With their next win, the Flyers will reach 2,000 wins in franchise history, becoming the first of the NHL's Expansion Era teams to achieve the milestone.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Vancouver Canucks GP G A P
Claude Giroux 52 16 40 56 Elias Pettersson 41 23 23 46
Jake Voracek 52 11 33 44 Bo Horvat 52 18 24 42
Sean Couturier 50 20 23 43 Brock Boeser 39 17 18 35
Travis Konecny 52 14 16 30 Nikolay Goldobin 45 6 18 24
James van Riemsdyk 36 13 12 25 Loui Eriksson 52 9 12 21
 
Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux 40 Elias Pettersson
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, +1 Last 5 Games: 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, +2
 
Claude Giroux was held off the scoresheet in wins over the Jets and Rangers last week as well as in the team's final game before the break against Montreal. In the last two, however, Giroux has scored twice and added two assists, with three points coming in Saturday's win.
 
Elias Pettersson may have missed some significant time with injury this season, but the Canucks rookie sensation is still leading the way in points. With 23 goals on the season, the skillset on the 20-year-old is phenomenal and he can take over a game at any time. In his three games back since the injury, Pettersson has one goal and three assists.
 
Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 25 Jacob Markstrom
15 GP, 9-5-1, 2.58 GAA, .921 SV% 38 GP, 20-13-5, 2.79 GAA, .910 SV%

Despite allowing four goals for just the third time in his career on Saturday, Carter Hart still made 40 saves, so his numbers didn't dip that much. He has started six of the seven games on the current winning streak, and gets another chance on Monday night.

Jacob Markstrom gets the start for the Canucks on Monday night. Markstrom made 34 saves in a win over Colorado on Saturday when the Canucks returned from the bye week with a 5-1 win. In his last start before the break, however, Markstrom allowed five goals on 34 shots in a loss to Carolina. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Brian Elliott, Corban Knight

Scratches: Christian Folin, Jori Lehtera

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 24 Mikhail Vorobyev 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

The Flyers lineup is expected to remain the same from Saturday's game for Monday's game.

Canucks Projected Lineup

Scratches: Sven Baertschi, Markus Granlund, Alex Biega

Left Wing Center Right Wing
59 Tim Schaller 53 Bo Horvat 17 Josh Leivo
77 Nikolay Goldobin 40 Elias Pettersson 6 Brock Boeser
26 Antoine Roussel 20 Brandon Sutter 18 Jake Virtanen
21 Loui Eriksson 83 Jay Beagle 64 Tyler Motte
Defense    
23 Alexander Edler 8 Chris Tanev  
27 Ben Hutton 51 Troy Stecher  
5 Derrick Pouliot 44 Erik Gudbranson  
Goalie    
25 Jacob Markstrom    

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 17th at home), Canucks (21st, T-19th on road)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-26th, 23rd at home), Canucks (T-17th, 26th on road) 
  • Recent History vs. Canucks
    • Nov. 21, 2017 – Canucks 5, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
    • Dec. 7, 2017 – Flyers 4, Canucks 1 (at VAN)
    • Dec. 15, 2018 – Canucks 5, Flyers 1 (at VAN)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Canucks
    • Claude Giroux – 15 GP, 4 G, 10 A, 14 P
    • Shayne Gostisbehere – 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
    • Jake Voracek – 24 GP, 3 G, 14 A, 17 P
    • James van Riemsdyk – 13 GP, 5 G, 3 A, 8 P
  • Milestone Watch
    • The next win will be the 2,000th win in Flyers franchise history.
    • Claude Giroux is playing in his 791st career game tonight, moving into third place all-time in Flyers franchise history.
    • Radko Gudas needs two points to reach 100 for his career.

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

Go to top button