Flyers-Blue Jackets: Game 60 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers have hit a crucial point in the season. There are just over 20 games remaining on the schedule, 23 to be exact. The trade deadline is in less than a week. Every game holds great importance, but one look at the standings shows just how important the next two games will be.

The Flyers currently hold the final wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with 71 points. That is just one point behind the opponent for the next two games, the Columbus Blue Jackets, who technically hold the first wildcard spot with 72 points though they are tied for third in the division with the Islanders. It presents an opportunity for the Flyers to really solidify their place in the playoff race.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Columbus Blue Jackets	GP	G	A	P
Sean Couturier	59	17	35	52	Pierre-Luc Dubois	60	17	27	44
Travis Konecny	56	19	29	48	Gustav Nyquist	60	12	25	37
Claude Giroux	59	16	28	44	Zach Werenski	53	18	17	35
Jake Voracek	59	11	32	43	Oliver Bjorkstrand	47	19	14	33
James van Riemsdyk	59	18	20	38	Seth Jones	56	6	24	30

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	28 Oliver Bjorkstrand
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 6 A, 9 P, +1	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, E

Claude Giroux has started to see the points roll in of late. He had a three-point game in Washington on Feb. 8 to snap a four-game pointless streak and now has nine points on a current five-game points streak, including three multi-point games.

The Blue Jackets have dealt with a ton of injuries, meaning they need a number of players to step up. Oliver Bjorkstrand has done that lately, going on a four-game points streak.

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	90 Elvis Merzlikins
35 GP, 17-12-3, 2.59 GAA, .906 SV%	28 GP, 12-8-6, 2.21 GAA, .928 SV%

After getting two wins in his first two games back from injury, Carter Hart had a rough outing against the Lightning, making 19 saves on 23 shots in a loss. This will be Hart's first appearance of the season against Columbus and given the magnitude of these two games, likely won't be his last.

Once he was pressed into action as Columbus' No. 1 goalie, Elvis Merzlikins went on quite a run, winning 12 of 14 starts and recording five shutouts. The last four games have been very different. Merzlikins has played well, allowed three goals or less in each game, but is on a four-game losing streak.

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
49 Joel Farabee	13 Kevin Hayes	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl	82 Connor Bunnaman	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

No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup for Tuesday's game.

Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Injuries: Seth Jones, Cam Atkinson, Josh Anderson, Joonas Korpisalo, Ryan Murray, Alexander Wennberg, Alexandre Texier, Dean Kukan

Scratches: Gabriel Carlsson, Kole Sherwood

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
14 Gustav Nyquist	11 Kevin Stenlund	28 Oliver Bjorkstrand
71 Nick Foligno	38 Boone Jenner	24 Nathan Gerbe
22 Sonny Milano	18 Pierre-Luc Dubois	52 Emil Bemstrom
15 Jakob Lilja	20 Riley Nash	50 Eric Robinson
Defense
8 Zach Werenski	65 Markus Nutivaara
44 Vladislav Gavrikov	58 David Savard
4 Scott Harrington	2 Andrew Peeke
Goalie
90 Elvis Merzlikins	80 Matiss Kivlenieks

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (16th), Blue Jackets (26th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (11th), Blue Jackets (7th)
Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
- Oct. 26, 2019 – Flyers 7, Blue Jackets 4 (at PHI)
- Nov. 27, 2019 – Flyers 3, Blue Jackets 2 (at CBJ)
Flyers Leaders vs. Blue Jackets
- Claude Giroux – 31 GP, 10 G, 20 A, 30 P
- Travis Konecny – 13 GP, 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 21 GP, 10 G, 9 A, 19 P
- Jake Voracek – 27 GP, 7 G, 15 A, 22 P
- Carter Hart – 1 GP, 0-1-0, 4.15 GAA, .789 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs one power-play assist to pass Bobby Clarke for first on the Flyers all-time list.
- Scott Laughton needs three points to reach 100 for his career.