Flyers-Penguins: Game 25 Preview

Kevin Durso

December 1 2018

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

It's been three days since the Flyers took the ice for a game, and it's still been plenty eventful with all the happenings within the organization as the team looks for a new GM.

The Flyers will be back on the ice on Saturday before another extended break with four days between games. A lot more could change in that time. In the meantime, the current team faces the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team that has certainly had its struggles this season. But last season's playoff series, when the Flyers were heavily outplayed by the Penguins, is still in recent memory.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	24	8	21	29	Evgeni Malkin	24	9	21	30
Sean Couturier	24	10	8	18	Sidney Crosby	21	13	15	28
Jake Voracek	24	6	12	18	Phil Kessel	24	10	18	28
Travis Konecny	24	7	8	15	Jake Guentzel	24	11	9	20
Wayne Simmonds	23	9	4	13	Kris Letang	23	5	15	20

Player to Watch
19 Nolan Patrick	87 Sidney Crosby
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, -4	Last 5 Games: 5 G, 4 A, 9 P, +3

The last few games have been a struggle for Nolan Patrick. The Flyers need the second-line center to start adding some production to his game, or he may be in danger of heading to the third line.

Sidney Crosby has been his usual self in the last five games, scoring a hat trick on Wednesday and totaling nine points in the last five games. Obviously, against the Flyers, expect him to find his way to the scoresheet in some way.

Goalie Matchup
41 Anthony Stolarz	1 Casey DeSmith
2 GP, 0-1-0, 3.40 GAA, .898 SV%	15 GP, 6-3-3, 2.41 GAA, .924 SV%

Anthony Stolarz gets a second straight start on Saturday. Stolarz played well on Tuesday before allowing three goals in the final five shots faced in the loss to Ottawa. He gets another shot against the Penguins.

With Matt Murray on the shelf, Casey DeSmith has served as the Penguins primary goalie and he's been solid this season with six wins and a 2.41 GAA.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jordan Weal, Andrew MacDonald

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	19 Nolan Patrick	17 Wayne Simmonds
93 Jake Voracek	21 Scott Laughton	12 Michael Raffl
22 Dale Weise	15 Jori Lehtera	23 Oskar Lindblom
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	8 Robert Hagg
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	26 Christian Folin
6 Travis Sanheim	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
41 Anthony Stolarz

Lineup Notes

The Flyers are trying a new-look second line with James van Riemsdyk back on left wing with Nolan Patrick at center and Wayne Simmonds at right wing. Jake Voracek was moved to the third line with Scott Laughton and Michael Raffl. Jori Lehtera comes back in the lineup as the fourth-line center. Jordan Weal comes out of the lineup. Defensively, Christian Folin re-entered the lineup for Andrew MacDonald.

Penguins Projected Lineup

Injuries: Justin Schultz, Matt Murray, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Cullen

Scratches: Derek Grant, Chad Ruhwedel

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
59 Jake Guentzel	87 Sidney Crosby	12 Dominik Simon
14 Tanner Pearson	71 Evgeni Malkin	81 Phil Kessel
46 Zach Aston-Reese	19 Derick Brassard	17 Bryan Rust
10 Garrett Wilson	15 Riley Sheahan	41 Daniel Sprong
Defense
8 Brian Dumoulin	58 Kris Letang
73 Jack Johnson	6 Jamie Oleksiak
3 Olli Maatta	50 Juuso Riikola
Goalie
1 Casey DeSmith

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (26th, 23rd on road), Penguins (8th, 28th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 28th on road), Penguins (6th, 20th at home)
Recent History vs. Penguins
- Nov. 27, 2017 – Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at PIT)
- Jan. 2, 2018 – Penguins 5, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
- March 7, 2018 – Penguins 5, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
- March 25, 2018 – Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at PIT)
- 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs
  - Game 1 – April 11, 2018 – Penguins 7, Flyers 0 (at PIT)
  - Game 2 – April 13, 2018 – Flyers 5, Penguins 1 (at PIT)
  - Game 3 – April 15, 2018 – Penguins 5, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
  - Game 4 – April 18, 2018 – Penguins 5, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
  - Game 5 – April 20, 2018 – Flyers 4, Penguins 2 (at PIT)
  - Game 6 – April 22, 2018 – Penguins 8, Flyers 5 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
- Claude Giroux – 44 GP, 14 G, 31 A, 45 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 12 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 12 P
- Jake Voracek – 36 GP, 18 G, 17 A, 35 P
- Wayne Simmonds – 32 GP, 13 G, 11 A, 24 P
Milestone Watch
- James van Riemsdyk needs three points to reach 400 in his career.
- Jori Lehtera will play in his 300th NHL game tonight.