Flyers-Jets: Game 62 Preview

Kevin Durso

February 22 2020

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

There is hardly anything comfortable about the Flyers place in the standings. At 75 points and in third in the Metropolitan Division, just five points separate the Flyers from the division lead, but just three separate them from being out of the playoff picture completely. Still, they have put themselves in a position to eventually solidify their place in the race if they keep on the current path.

Their next matchup comes on Saturday afternoon, when they face the Winnipeg Jets, as they look for a third straight win and another chance to continue their climb in the standings. It is an especially important game as it marks the last before Monday's trade deadline, so the result could influence the Flyers in one way or another as the deadline approaches.

Game time is 1 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Winnipeg Jets	GP	G	A	P
Sean Couturier	61	18	36	54	Mark Scheifele	62	26	39	65
Travis Konecny	58	21	33	54	Kyle Connor	62	30	33	63
Claude Giroux	61	17	30	47	Patrik Laine	60	25	33	58
Jake Voracek	61	12	33	45	Blake Wheeler	62	20	35	55
James van Riemsdyk	61	18	20	38	Nikolaj Ehlers	62	22	27	49

Player to Watch
9 Ivan Provorov	55 Mark Scheifele
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -4	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 3 A, 6 P, -5

Ivan Provorov has put up solid numbers offensive, but it will be about defensive play and silencing the Jets potent offense that will be key to this game. He will have quite the task against several scorers for Winnipeg.

Mark Scheifele went three straight games without a point and 12 without a goal, then posted a four-point game and a hat trick on Thursday. Scheifele had a three-point game against the Flyers back on Dec. 15.

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	37 Connor Hellebuyck
36 GP, 18-12-3, 2.54 GAA, .908 SV%	50 GP, 26-18-5, 2.71 GAA, .919 SV%

Carter Hart was solid in Tuesday's win at home over Columbus, making 28 saves on 29 shots for his third win since returning last Monday. Hart entered in relief against the Jets earlier this season, allowing one goal on seven shots. He stopped 31 of 32 shots in a win against the Jets in their trip to Philadelphia last season.

Connor Hellebuyck also got the night off on Thursday after picking up a win on Tuesday, stopping 31 of 34 shots against Los Angeles. Hellebuyck made 29 saves against the Flyers in a win on Dec. 15.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere, Mark Friedman

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
49 Joel Farabee	13 Kevin Hayes	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl	82 Connor Bunnaman	62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	61 Justin Braun
Goalie
79 Carter Hart	37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Justin Braun makes his return to the lineup after missing Thursday's game with the flu. Mark Friedman will sit as the healthy scratch.

Jets Projected Lineup

Injuries: Mark Letestu, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perreault, Luca Sbisa, Adam Lowry

Scratches: Cody Eakin, Andrei Chibisov, Anthony Bitetto, Dustin Byfuglien, Sami Niku

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
27 Nikolaj Ehlers	55 Mark Scheifele	26 Blake Wheeler
81 Kyle Connor	9 Andrew Copp	29 Patrik Laine
58 Jansen Harkins	28 Jack Roslovic	82 Mason Appleton
57 Gabriel Bourque	21 Nick Shore	38 Logan Shaw
Defense
44 Josh Morrissey	3 Tucker Poolman
7 Dmitry Kulikov	4 Neal Pionk
88 Nathan Beaulieu	12 Dylan DeMelo
Goalie
37 Connor Hellebuyck	30 Laurent Brossoit

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (15th), Jets (T-16th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-9th), Jets (26th)
Recent History vs. Jets
- Dec. 9, 2018 – Jets 7, Flyers 1 (at WPG)
- Jan. 28, 2019 – Flyers 3, Jets 1 (at PHI)
- Dec. 15, 2019 – Jets 7, Flyers 3 (at WPG)
Flyers Leaders vs. Jets
- Claude Giroux – 30 GP, 8 G, 19 A, 27 P
- Jake Voracek – 24 GP, 6 G, 13 A, 19 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 27 GP, 6 G, 14 A, 20 P
- Carter Hart – 2 GP, 1-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .949 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Scott Laughton needs three points to reach 100 for his career.
- Travis Konecny needs three assists to reach 100 for his career.