Game 70 Preview: Flyers, Wings meet in rubber match

The Flyers are set to take on the Detroit Red Wings in Saturday matinee action, for the third and final time this season. Both squads have split the season series so far, with the two games coming in a 31-day span (Oct. 25 and Nov. 26).

Since the 2004-05 lockout, the Flyers have won all five home games played against the Red Wings, while the Wings haven't won in the City of Brotherly Love since the 1997 Stanley Cup final. Their most recent Wells Fargo Center matchup — on Oct. 25 — saw the Flyers cruise to a 4-2 win, with Michael Raffl scoring two goals and Jakub Voracek recording two assists. The Orange and Black managed to win that game, despite a paltry 17 shots on goal.

The Red Wings (37-18-11) enter the game with wins in two of their past five games, most recently falling 3-1 to Columbus on Thursday. The Flyers, of course, will look to snap a four-game losing streak, as they've gone 1-2-3 so far in the month of March and have scored just five goals in their last four games.

Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg each lead the Red Wings in points, with 58. Both players scored in the Nov. 26 meeting, with Datsyuk recording a two-goal night. Between the pipes, Jimmy Howard — who is expected to start — stands at 20-10-9 with a 2.27 GAA and .917 save percentage.

The Flyers (28-27-14) are likely to start Steve Mason between the pipes — which would be the ninth-consecutive appearance and eight-consecutive start for Mason. If Mason gets some well-earned rest, Ray Emery would suit up for the first time since Feb. 19. Emery's played in both games against the Wings this season (including a relief appearance on Nov. 26) aggregating 41 saves on 47 shots.

Michael Del Zotto also skated with team Friday for the first time since sustaining an upper-body injury in last Saturday's overtime loss to Boston, but his status remains unknown.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (4th, 3rd at home), Red Wings (1st, 7th on road) 
  
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, T-10th at home), Red Wings (13th, 21st on road) 
• Wayne Simmonds still remains two goals away from 100 as a Flyer.

Flyers scratches: R.J Umberger, Brandon Manning, Radko Gudas, Michael Del Zotto

Flyers Projected Lineup

Line 1:  Brayden Schenn-Claude Giroux-Wayne Simmonds
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Ryan White-Michael Raffl-Zac Rinaldo
Line 4:Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Vincent Lecavalier

D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Mark Streit
D-Pair 2: Carlo Colaiacovo-Luke Schenn
D-Pair 3:Nicklas Grossmann-Andrew MacDonald

Goalie: Steve Mason

Where to Watch
TV: CSN Philly
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic 

Rob Riches is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61