Flyers-Rangers: Game 64 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

A few weeks ago, it felt like this weekend home-and-home series would have more potential to be a trap for the Flyers than a big game with a lot of playoff implications. But the New York Rangers have emerged as the hottest team in hockey at the moment, rolling off wins in nine of their last 10 games, including five straight following Thursday's comeback win over the Canadiens.

This recent surge has the Rangers just two points out of a playoff spot, while the Flyers, on a four-game winning streak of their own, look to maintain their place in third in the Metro with their sights now firmly set on taking another step and trying to catch the teams at the top.

It all starts on Friday night, when the Flyers play host in the weekend opener. Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P New York Rangers GP G A P
Travis Konecny 60 22 35 57 Artemi Panarin 62 32 55 87
Sean Couturier 63 19 36 55 Mika Zibanejad 50 30 32 62
Claude Giroux 63 17 30 47 Ryan Strome 63 18 40 58
Jake Voracek 63 12 34 46 Tony DeAngelo 61 13 34 47
James van Riemsdyk  63 18 21 39 Chris Kreider 62 24 21 45
 
Player to Watch
13 Kevin Hayes 10 Artemi Panarin
Last 5 Games: 4 G, 2 A, 6 P, +4 Last 5 Games: 3 G, 6 A, 9 P, +8
 
Kevin Hayes continues to have a very strong season. With four goals in his last four games, including a two-goal game on Tuesday, Hayes is now just four goals shy of matching his career high. In his first meeting against his former team in December, Hayes had two goals, including the game-winner.
 
Artemi Panarin's recent hot streak has him set to set a new career high in points. He enters Friday's game on a streak of four straight multi-point games and is tied for his career mark in points with 87 on the season. 
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 40 Alexandar Georgiev
38 GP, 20-12-3, 2.51 GAA, .909 SV% 30 GP, 16-12-1, 2.94 GAA, .914 SV%

Carter Hart gets back in the net on home ice once again, looking for his fourth straight win. Hart made 26 saves in Tuesday's win over the Sharks. Hart was also in goal against the Rangers in the Flyers 5-1 win on Dec. 23, making 34 saves. 

The Rangers have leaned heavily on Alexander Georgiev with newcomer Igor Shesterkin on the shelf with an injury and that means Georgiev will make his third start in four nights on Friday in Philadelphia. Georgiev had a solid game on Thursday, making 32 saves in a win over Montreal. Georgiev has won four of his last five starts, including both starts this week. He has seen a large volume of shots in the last four games specifically. A total of 149 shots have been fired his way and the Rangers netminder has allowed just eight goals.

Flyers Projected Lineup

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

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere

Left Wing Center Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux 14 Sean Couturier 93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton 13 Kevin Hayes 11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk 38 Derek Grant 18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl 44 Nate Thompson 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

Kevin Hayes and Matt Niskanen were not at practice on Thursday for maintenance days, but are both expected to play. There are no changes expected to the lineup as a result.

Rangers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Igor Shesterkin, Pavel Buchnevich, Michael Haley

Left Wing Center Right Wing
20 Chris Kreider 93 Mika Zibanejad 72 Filip Chytil
10 Artemi Panarin 16 Ryan Strome 17 Jesper Fast
33 Phil Di Giuseppe 21 Brett Howden 24 Kaapo Kakko
48 Brendan Lemieux 14 Greg McKegg 12 Julien Gauthier
Defense    
42 Brendan Smith 8 Jacob Trouba  
55 Ryan Lindgren 23 Adam Fox  
18 Marc Staal 77 Tony DeAngelo  
Goalie    
40 Alexandar Georgiev 30 Henrik Lundqvist  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (14th), Rangers (6th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-9th), Rangers (18th)
  • Recent History vs. Rangers
    • Nov. 23, 2018 – Flyers 4, Rangers 0 (at PHI)
    • Dec. 23, 2018 – Flyers 3, Rangers 2 (F/SO) (at NYR)
    • Jan. 29, 2019 – Flyers 1, Rangers 0 (at NYR)
    • March 31, 2019 – Rangers 3, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
    • Dec. 23, 2019 – Flyers 5, Rangers 1 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Rangers
    • Claude Giroux – 54 GP, 10 G, 39 A, 49 P
    • Jake Voracek – 40 GP, 13 G, 17 A, 30 P
    • Travis Konecny – 13 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P
    • Carter Hart – 2 GP, 1-1-0, 2.00 GAA, .933 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

YWT: The Philadelphia Flyers Podcast

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