Flyers-Wild: Game 57 Preview

Kevin Durso

February 12 2019

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers playoff hopes took a hit with a loss to Pittsburgh on Monday at home, creating an eight-point deficit in the playoff race once again. The Flyers don't get any time to dwell on the loss.

They are right back in action on Tuesday night, taking on the Minnesota Wild, a team they defeated a month ago at the start of an eight-game winning streak.

Game time is at 8 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Minnesota Wild	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	56	16	43	59	Zach Parise	55	22	26	48
Sean Couturier	54	23	25	48	Mikael Granlund	56	13	32	45
Jake Voracek	56	14	34	48	Ryan Suter	56	6	31	37
Travis Konecny	56	15	18	33	Eric Staal	55	17	20	37
James van Riemsdyk	40	13	13	26	Jared Spurgeon	56	10	22	32

Player to Watch
25 James van Riemsdyk	16 Jason Zucker
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +1

A hat trick against Minnesota on Jan. 14 marked the third straight game James van Riemsdyk had scored. Since then, he had just two goals and three assists and has gone seven games without a goal. The Flyers need him to get going again.

Jason Zucker has five goals in eight career games against the Flyers and always seems to find a way to make an impact against the Orange and Black.

Goalie Matchup
41 Anthony Stolarz	40 Devan Dubnyk
11 GP, 3-3-3, 3.26 GAA, .903 SV%	46 GP, 21-19-4, 2.57 GAA, .913 SV%

Anthony Stolarz was in goal for the end of the Flyers eight-game winning streak, a game the Flyers lost, 3-2, in a shootout. Stolarz was hardly the reason for the defeat, making 37 saves on 39 shots to get the game to the shootout.

Devan Dubnyk made starts in back-to-back games after winning against the Devils on Feb. 9 by making just 16 saves on 18 shots. He lost on Feb. 10 to the Islanders despite allowing two goals on 34 shots. Dubnyk started against the Flyers on Jan. 14 and was pulled after two periods, allowing five goals on 20 shots.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michal Neuvirth, Brian Elliott

Scratches: Phil Myers, Justin Bailey

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
41 Anthony Stolarz

Lineup Notes

With no morning skate following Monday's game, any lineup changes will be learned during warmups, though none are expected.

Wild Projected Lineup

Injuries: Mikko Koivu, Mathew Dumba, Pontus Aberg

Scratches: Matt Hendricks, Brad Hunt

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
11 Zach Parise	64 Mikael Granlund	3 Charlie Coyle
18 Jordan Greenway	12 Eric Staal	16 Jason Zucker
17 Marcus Foligno	14 Joel Eriksson Ek	19 Luke Kunin
37 Kyle Rau	49 Victor Rask	21 Eric Fehr
Defense
20 Ryan Suter	46 Jared Spurgeon
25 Jonas Brodin	2 Anthony Bitetto
36 Nick Seeler	29 Greg Pateryn
Goalie
40 Devan Dubnyk

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 31st on road), Wild (T-11th, 13th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, T-26th on road), Wild (7th, 4th at home)
Recent History vs. Wild
- Nov. 11, 2017 – Wild 1, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
- Nov. 14, 2017 – Wild 3, Flyers 0 (at MIN)
- Jan. 14, 2019 – Flyers 7, Wild 4 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Wild
- Jake Voracek – 22 GP, 3 G, 15 A, 18 P
- Wayne Simmonds – 24 GP, 7 G, 10 A, 17 P
- Claude Giroux – 14 GP, 3 G, 5 A, 8 P
Milestone Watch
- Radko Gudas needs two points to reach 100 for his career.