Flyers look to close road trip on high note against Coyotes
On a busy day for the rest of the NHL, the Flyers are one of the closing acts. Another late-night game follows many games for East teams that will dictate just what Saturday's game means to the Flyers.
The Flyers will look to continue their winning ways regardless as they face the Arizona Coyotes.
The opening faceoff is set for 10 p.m.
Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Coyotes Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
Claude Giroux | 70 | 21 | 41 | 62 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | 68 | 19 | 32 | 51 |
Brayden Schenn | 71 | 24 | 28 | 52 | Max Domi | 73 | 18 | 29 | 47 |
Wayne Simmonds | 73 | 25 | 26 | 51 | Shane Doan | 65 | 25 | 18 | 43 |
Jakub Voracek | 64 | 10 | 40 | 50 | Anthony Duclair | 73 | 17 | 21 | 38 |
Shayne Gostisbehere | 55 | 16 | 24 | 40 | Martin Hanzal | 61 | 13 | 25 | 38 |
Player to Watch | |
17 Wayne Simmonds | 16 Max Domi |
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, -1 | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, +1 |
Goalie Matchup | |
35 Steve Mason | 41 Mike Smith |
19-16-9, 2.55 GAA, .918 SV% | 13-10-1, 2.75 GAA, .913 SV% |
Steve Mason had a bit of an injury scare at the end of Thursday's win in Colorado, but will make his fourth straight start on the road trip and fifth straight start overall. Mason was again excellent in Colorado and has made 106 saves on 111 shots in the three games on the road trip so far.
Mike Smith has battled injury for much of the season and makes just his 27th appearance of the season. His results have varied of late, three wins and one loss in the four starts since returning, but he has troubling numbers against the Flyers. When facing the Orange and Black, Smith has a 3.70 GAA, a .887 save percentage and is 4-7-2.
Scratches: Scott Laughton, Evgeny Medvedev, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Michael Del Zotto
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
12 Michael Raffl | 14 Sean Couturier | 89 Sam Gagner |
93 Jake Voracek | 52 Nick Cousins | 24 Matt Read |
76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 25 Ryan White |
Defense | ||
47 Andrew MacDonald | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
55 Nick Schultz | 32 Mark Streit | |
23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
Goalie | ||
35 Steve Mason |
After Chris VandeVelde replaced Scott Laughton in the lineup on Thursday, look for the same lineup to take the ice on Saturday in Arizona.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (17th, 12th on road), Coyotes (16th, 10th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th, 15th on road), Coyotes (25th, 29th at home)
- Recent History vs. Coyotes
- Feb. 27, 2016 - The Flyers claimed a 4-2 win over the Coyotes in Philadelphia. The Flyers jumped out to a 3-1 first-period lead with goals from Scott Laughton, Claude Giroux and Sam Gagner. Brad Richardson scored for Arizona in the first and the Coyotes closed the lead to 3-2 with a third period goal from Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare capped the scoring with an insurance goal with 2:45 remaining. Michal Neuvirth made 29 saves in the win.
- Flyers leaders vs. Coyotes
- Matt Read - 6 games, 2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points
- Mark Streit - 10 games, 1 goals, 7 assist, 8 points
- Claude Giroux – 9 games, 4 goal, 3 assists, 7 points
- Steve Mason – 13 games, 5-8-0, 2.95 GAA, .901 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs 5 goals to reach 100 as a Flyer.
- Sean Couturier needs 2 assists to reach 100 in his career.
- Claude Giroux needs 3 points to pass Reggie Leach for 12th all-time in Flyers history.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.