Flyers-Bruins: Game 15 Preview

Kevin Durso

February 21 2021

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers and Bruins are taking things outside at Lake Tahoe. For the Flyers, the Bruins have been a thorn in the side for the entire season, handing them four losses so far. The road doesn't get any easier as the Flyers head into this game with a still shorthanded lineup.

The Bruins continue to sit atop the East Division standings and pace the division. However, the playing conditions are even for both sides, as neither will have touched the outdoor ice surface prior to warmups and poor conditions forced the suspension of Saturday's outdoor game to Saturday night and pushed this game back to an evening start time.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Boston Bruins	GP	G	A	P
James van Riemsdyk	14	7	11	18	Brad Marchand	15	9	9	18
Joel Farabee	14	7	6	13	Patrice Bergeron	15	7	11	18
Kevin Hayes	14	6	7	13	Charlie McAvoy	15	1	11	12
Jake Voracek	13	3	9	12	David Pastrnak	8	6	5	11
Claude Giroux	13	1	10	11	Nick Ritchie	15	5	6	11

The Flyers have gotten a lot of production out of James van Riemsdyk this season. They will need him to be a top performer to remain competitive in this game. Despite not recording a point in Thursday's game against the Rangers, he still has nine points in his last five games.

David Pastrnak is always a top producer for the Bruins, but he has cooled slightly since tearing things up in his first few games. He has one goal and four points in his last five games, still excellent production, and looks to continue his dominance against the Flyers.

Carter Hart played well despite taking the shootout loss in Thursday's game against the Rangers. He will be back in goal for his first outdoor game in the NHL to face the Bruins.

It's no surprise that Tuukka Rask gets the call again against the Flyers. Rask picked up a pair of wins against the Flyers in back-to-back games in Philly a couple of weeks ago, and has continued his strong start to the season.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Claude Giroux (COVID list), Jake Voracek (COVID list), Travis Konecny (COVID list), Oskar Lindblom (COVID list), Justin Braun (COVID list), Scott Laughton (COVID list), Morgan Frost (injury), David Kase (healthy), Nate Prosser (healthy)

Bruins Scratches: David Krejci (injury), Ondrej Kase (injury), Matt Grzelcyk (injury), Jakub Zboril (injury), Urho Vaakanainen (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Still dealing with a shorthanded lineup, the Flyers have opted to insert Mark Friedman into the lineup as a hybrid forward/defenseman and will play with 11 forwards and seven defensemen. David Kase comes out of the lineup.
Bruins: Just when it appeared the Bruins were nearly back to full strength minus a handful of players, they lost David Krejci due to injury. Matt Grzelcyk, Ondrej Kase, and Jakub Zboril are also out.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (18th), Bruins (8th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th), Bruins (1st)
Recent History vs. Bruins
- Jan. 21, 2021 – Bruins 5, Flyers 4 (F/SO) (at BOS)
- Jan. 23, 2021 – Bruins 6, Flyers 1 (at BOS)
- Feb. 3, 2021 – Bruins 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Feb. 5, 2021 – Bruins 2, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Bruins
- James van Riemsdyk – 40 GP, 17 G, 14 A, 31 P
- Erik Gustafsson – 13 GP, 2 G, 8 A, 10 P
- Travis Sanheim – 12 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 P
- Carter Hart – 8 GP, 4-2-2, 3.39 GAA, .892 SV%
Milestone Watch
- James van Riemsdyk needs one point to reach 500 in his career.
- Erik Gustafsson needs two assists to reach 100 in his career.