Flyers-Sharks: Game 63 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Monday's trade deadline brought two new faces to Philadelphia and both will be in the lineup as the Flyers continue their playoff push.

Derek Grant and Nate Thompson make their Flyers debut as the team goes for a fourth straight win against the San Jose Sharks.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P San Jose Sharks GP G A P
Sean Couturier 62 19 36 55 Brent Burns 62 12 30 42
Travis Konecny 59 21 33 54 Timo Meier 62 20 21 41
Claude Giroux 62 17 30 47 Erik Karlsson 56 6 34 40
Jake Voracek 62 12 34 46 Evander Kane 56 21 16 37
James van Riemsdyk  62 18 20 38 Tomas Hertl 48 16 20 36
 
Player to Watch
38 Derek Grant 28 Timo Meier
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -2 Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -4
 
Derek Grant comes from Anaheim and jumps right in to center the Flyers third line in his debut. Grant has four goals this month, but just one in the last six games. 
 
Timo Meier enters Tuesday's game with just four goals in his last 14 games, but posted one of his best performances of the season against the Flyers in December, scoring a hat trick.
 
Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart 30 Aaron Dell
37 GP, 19-12-3, 2.52 GAA, .909 SV% 30 GP, 12-13-2, 2.90 GAA, .909 SV%

Carter Hart got another home win on Saturday against the Jets, making 27 saves in the process. He'll be back in net looking for a much better result than his first game against the Sharks back in December.

Aaron Dell gets the start for the Sharks after allowing three goals on 33 shots in a loss to the Rangers on Saturday. Dell has been the more consistent goalie for the Sharks, though they have had a lot of struggles in that area this season. Dell has a 3-0-1 record with a 1.24 GAA in four career starts against the Flyers, including one shutout.

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

Both Derek Grant and Nate Thompson enter the lineup following Monday's trades. Thompson will center the fourth line. Grant will center the third line. Scott Laughton moves up to play second-line wing. 

Sharks Projected Lineup

Injuries: Tomas Hertl, Erik Karlsson, Melker Karlsson, Dalton Prout

Scratches: Maxim Letunov, Lean Bergmann, Brandon Davidson

Left Wing Center Right Wing
9 Evander Kane 39 Logan Couture 62 Kevin Labanc
28 Timo Meier 19 Joe Thornton 7 Dylan Gambrell
40 Antti Suomela 46 Joel Kellman 11 Stefan Noesen
20 Marcus Sorensen 70 Alexander True 73 Noah Gregor
Defense    
51 Radim Simek 88 Brent Burns  
44 Marc-Edouard Vlasic 38 Mario Ferraro  
67 Jacob Middleton 72 Tim Heed  
Goalie    
30 Aaron Dell 31 Martin Jones  

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (16th), Sharks (26th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Sharks (1st)
  • Recent History vs. Sharks
    • Oct. 9, 2018 – Sharks 8, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
    • Nov. 3, 2018 – Sharks 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at SJ)
    • Dec. 28, 2019 – Sharks 6, Flyers 1 (at SJ)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Sharks
    • Claude Giroux – 18 GP, 8 G, 7 A, 15 P
    • Travis Konecny – 5 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 P
    • Kevin Hayes – 12 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 P
    • Carter Hart – 1 GP, 0-1-0, 6.00 GAA, .793 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Scott Laughton needs one point to reach 100 for his career.
    • Travis Konecny needs three assists to reach 100 for his career.

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

YWT: The Philadelphia Flyers Podcast

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