(Photo: Kate Frese)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Time is running out on the Flyers with just nine games remaining on the schedule. Tuesday's loss to Montreal was quite possibly the knockout blow to their playoff hopes.
Any hint of what remains of those hopes rests on the next game in front of the team. That comes on Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks.
Game time is at 8:30 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Chicago Blackhawks | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 73 | 20 | 57 | 77 | Patrick Kane | 71 | 41 | 60 | 101 |
| Sean Couturier | 71 | 30 | 40 | 70 | Jonathan Toews | 72 | 31 | 41 | 72 |
| Jake Voracek | 69 | 19 | 43 | 62 | Alex DeBrincat | 72 | 38 | 33 | 71 |
| Travis Konecny | 73 | 22 | 24 | 46 | Erik Gustafsson | 69 | 14 | 37 | 51 |
| James van Riemsdyk | 57 | 25 | 18 | 43 | Dylan Strome | 48 | 14 | 30 | 44 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 14 Sean Couturier | 88 Patrick Kane |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, E | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 4 A, 5 P, +3 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 79 Carter Hart | 50 Corey Crawford |
| 25 GP, 14-10-1, 2.73 GAA, .919 SV% | 31 GP, 12-15-3, 3.06 GAA, .907 SV% |
Carter Hart played well despite taking the loss on Tuesday, making 33 saves on 35 shots after his heroics in Pittsburgh. He's back in net for another start on Thursday.
Corey Crawford had four straight wins before an overtime loss to Vancouver in his last start. Crawford allowed one goal or less in each of the four starts with one shutout.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Michal Neuvirth
Scratches: Andrew MacDonald, Cam Talbot, Sam Morin
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 23 Oskar Lindblom | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 25 James van Riemsdyk | 19 Nolan Patrick | 28 Claude Giroux |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 21 Scott Laughton | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 44 Phil Varone | 10 Corban Knight | 38 Ryan Hartman |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 6 Travis Sanheim | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 61 Phil Myers | |
| 8 Robert Hagg | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 79 Carter Hart |
Lineup Notes
Phil Myers returns from illness. Andrew MacDonald comes out. The rest of the lineup is the same.
Blackhawks Projected Lineup
Injuries: Drake Caggiula
Scratches: John Hayden, Carl Dahlstrom
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 95 Dylan Sikura | 19 Jonathan Toews | 88 Patrick Kane |
| 12 Alex DeBrincat | 17 Dylan Strome | 11 Brendan Perlini |
| 20 Brandon Saad | 15 Artem Anisimov | 24 Dominik Kahun |
| 14 Chris Kunitz | 64 David Kampf | 16 Marcus Kruger |
| Defense | ||
| 2 Duncan Keith | 56 Erik Gustafsson | |
| 42 Gustav Forsling | 7 Brent Seabrook | |
| 68 Slater Koekkoek | 5 Connor Murphy | |
| Goalie | ||
| 50 Corey Crawford |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 28th on road), Blackhawks (12th, 8th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (25th, T-20th on road), Blackhawks (31st, 26th at home)
- Recent History vs. Blackhawks
- Nov. 1, 2017 – Blackhawks 3, Flyers 0 (at CHI)
- Nov. 9, 2017 – Flyers 3, Blackhawks 1 (at PHI)
- Nov. 10, 2018 – Flyers 4, Blackhawks 0 (at PHI)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Blackhawks
- Claude Giroux – 15 GP, 5 G, 17 A, 22 P
- Sean Couturier – 11 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
- Jake Voracek – 29 GP, 6 G, 16 A, 22 P
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
