By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Aside from the home opener against the New Jersey Devils, the Flyers schedule has been entirely against Western Conference opponents. That is about to change.
The Flyers next 14 games are against Eastern Conference teams, including eight within the Metropolitan Division, a big chance to show how they stack up within a highly competitive group of teams all vying for playoff spots this season.
The first game comes on Saturday night, when the Flyers return home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets, who enter the game on a six-game points streak. Game time is at 7 p.m.
Team Leaders
| Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Columbus Blue Jackets | GP | G | A | P |
| Travis Konecny | 8 | 4 | 7 | 11 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| Oskar Lindblom | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | Seth Jones | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 |
| Sean Couturier | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Cam Atkinson | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Ivan Provorov | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Gustav Nyquist | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Claude Giroux | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | Alexander Wennberg | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 14 Sean Couturier | 13 Cam Atkinson |
| Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, -2 | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +1 |
| Projected Goalie Matchup | |
| 37 Brian Elliott | 70 Joonas Korpisalo |
| 4 GP, 2-1-0, 2.09 GAA, .933 SV% | 8 GP, 5-2-1, 2.72 GAA, .901 SV% |
Brian Elliott has put together back-to-back solid starts against Vegas and Chicago and for that gets another start against Columbus on Saturday night. The Flyers do have a back-to-back this weekend, so Elliott was always slated to get one of the games, but it makes sense to ride the hot hand entering Saturday.
Joonas Korpisalo is no longer the backup in Columbus, making eight starts in the team's first 10 games. He has wins in four of the last five starts, but has allowed three goals in each of the last three starts.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Nolan Patrick
Scratches: Sam Morin, Tyler Pitlick
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 25 James van Riemsdyk | 28 Claude Giroux | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 23 Oskar Lindblom | 14 Sean Couturier | 11 Travis Konecny |
| 21 Scott Laughton | 13 Kevin Hayes | 49 Joel Farabee |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 24 Mikhail Vorobyev | 44 Chris Stewart |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 15 Matt Niskanen | |
| 6 Travis Sanheim | 61 Justin Braun | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 8 Robert Hagg | |
| Goalie | ||
| 37 Brian Elliott | 79 Carter Hart |
Lineup Notes
The Flyers will go with the same lineup as Thursday. It did appear that Michael Raffl, who exited Thursday's game in the final minute after blocking a shot in serious pain, was going to miss some time, but x-rays were negative and he was able to take the morning skate on Saturday morning with no issues.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Injuries: Markus Nutivaara, Brandon Dubinsky
Scratches: Jakob Lilja, Dean Kukan
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 71 Nick Foligno | 18 Pierre-Luc Dubois | 13 Cam Atkinson |
| 14 Gustav Nyquist | 10 Alexander Wennberg | 77 Josh Anderson |
| 42 Alexandre Texier | 38 Boone Jenner | 28 Oliver Bjorkstrand |
| 22 Sonny Milano | 20 Riley Nash | 52 Emil Bemstrom |
| Defense | ||
| 8 Zach Werenski | 3 Seth Jones | |
| 27 Ryan Murray | 4 Scott Harrington | |
| 44 Vladislav Gavrikov | 58 David Savard | |
| Goalie | ||
| 70 Joonas Korpisalo | 90 Elvis Merzlinkins |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-5th), Blue Jackets (24th)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (20th), Blue Jackets (21st)
- Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
- Oct. 18, 2018 – Blue Jackets 6, Flyers 3 (at CBJ)
- Dec. 6, 2018 – Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Dec. 22, 2018 – Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
- Feb. 28, 2019 – Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at CBJ)
- Flyers Leaders vs. Blue Jackets
- Claude Giroux – 29 GP, 9 G, 19 A, 28 P
- Travis Konecny – 11 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 P
- Travis Sanheim – 6 GP, 4 G, 1 A, 5 P
- Brian Elliott – 12 GP, 6-3-3, 2.40 GAA, .914 SV%
- Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs three goals to reach 200 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
