Flyers-Stars: Game 6 Preview

Kevin Durso

October 19 2019

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Finally, the crazy travel is over and the Flyers can actually enjoy some time at home. Three of the next four games for the Flyers come on home ice.

It was a disappointing Western Canada trip for the Flyers, who posted an 0-2-1 record in three games, including back-to-back losses in Calgary and Edmonton earlier this week.

The Dallas Stars are the first opponent on the stretch of three of four games on home ice, and they come in having struggled so far this season with a 1-7-1 record, including five straight losses.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Dallas Stars	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	5	3	4	7	Roope Hintz	9	5	1	6
Oskar Lindblom	5	3	1	4	Miro Heiskanen	9	2	3	5
Ivan Provorov	5	1	3	4	Tyler Seguin	9	2	2	4
Sean Couturier	5	1	2	3	Alexander Radulov	9	1	3	4
Jake Voracek	5	2	1	3	Mattias Janmark	9	1	3	4

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	24 Roope Hintz
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -5

The offensive production hasn't been there for a lot of Flyers early this season. Sean Couturier has just three points in the first five games, including just one goal, certainly not the start expected after back-to-back 30-goal seasons.

If there has been any Dallas player showing some consistency early, it has been forward Roope Hintz. Hintz has opened the season with the best production on the team so far, including a team-leading five goals in the first nine games.

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	30 Ben Bishop
3 GP, 2-0-1, 1.62 GAA, .938 SV%	6 GP, 1-4-1, 2.83 GAA, .899 SV%

Carter Hart's homecoming in Edmonton did not go anywhere near as planned. Hart allowed four goals on 14 shots and was pulled in the second period of the 6-3 loss. Back on home ice, Hart goes right back between the pipes against Dallas.

If the Stars are going to get on track, they need to see better across the board, and that includes goaltending. Ben Bishop will start for Dallas on Saturday after getting the night off in Pittsburgh on Friday. Bishop has allowed three goals of more in four of his last five starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Sam Morin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom	13 Kevin Hayes	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	18 Tyler Pitlick
81 Carsen Twarynski	12 Michael Raffl	44 Chris Stewart
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	61 Justin Braun
8 Robert Hagg	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
Goalie
79 Carter Hart	37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

With Connor Bunnaman being sent down to the Phantoms on Friday, it leaves 12 forwards on the roster. So Chris Stewart is back in the lineup on the fourth line. The defensive pairings were shuffled slightly, but the same six will play once again on Saturday.

Stars Projected Lineup

Injuries: Martin Hanzal, Blake Comeau, Roman Polak

Scratches: Rhett Gardner, Joel Hanley, Stephen Johns

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
18 Jason Dickinson	91 Tyler Seguin	47 Alexander Radulov
14 Jamie Benn	24 Roope Hintz	10 Corey Perry
13 Mattias Janmark	12 Radek Faksa	16 Joe Pavelski
11 Andrew Cogliano	37 Justin Dowling	34 Denis Gurianov
Defense
23 Esa Lindell	3 John Klingberg
5 Andrej Sekera	4 Miro Heiskanen
2 Jamie Oleksiak	42 Taylor Fedun
Goalie
30 Ben Bishop	35 Anton Khudobin

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (5th), Stars (T-29th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (21st), Stars (14th)
Recent History vs. Stars
- Jan. 10, 2019 – Flyers 2, Stars 1 (at PHI)
- April 2, 2019 – Stars 6, Flyers 2 (at DAL)
Flyers Leaders vs. Stars
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 7 GP, 4 G, 3 A, 7 P
- Claude Giroux – 17 GP, 3 G, 12 A, 15 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 17 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 P
- Carter Hart – 1 GP, 1-0-0, 1.02 GAA, .974 SV%