Tuesday night, the effort was there for the Flyers. Everything was clicking and they seemed poised to grab a win over the Islanders. The glorified skills competition strikes again.
That was only the beginning of a week that looks daunting on paper for the Orange and Black. Next up is the St. Louis Blues.
The last time the Flyers won a game in St. Louis, the current Blues coach was their head coach. Ken Hitchcock was behind the Flyers bench for a 5-2 win in December 2005. Particularly, St. Louis has been a place where goal-scoring has not come easy. In the last two seasons, the Flyers two games in St. Louis ended in 1-0 shootout losses.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Blues Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Claude Giroux | 28 | 10 | 14 | 24 | Vladimir Tarasenko | 27 | 16 | 11 | 27 |
| Jake Voracek | 28 | 1 | 14 | 15 | Alexander Steen | 28 | 10 | 14 | 24 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 28 | 7 | 8 | 15 | David Backes | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Brayden Schenn | 26 | 6 | 6 | 12 | Colton Parayko | 26 | 5 | 9 | 14 |
| Scott Laughton | 28 | 3 | 6 | 9 | Kevin Shattenkirk | 18 | 4 | 10 | 14 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 28 Claude Giroux | 91 Vladimir Tarasenko |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, E | Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, E |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 30 Michal Neuvirth | 1 Brian Elliott |
| 6-3-2, 1.99 GAA, .937 SV% | 4-2-2, 2.36 GAA, .909 SV% |
Michal Neuvirth nearly earned the Flyers two points by being excellent in relief of a shaky Steve Mason on Tuesday. Neuvirth's 1.99 GAA ranks second in the NHL and he leads the league with a .937 save percentage.
Blues backup Brian Elliott gets the start for St. Louis. Hitchcock noted that "it's his turn" in the goalie rotation, so he will be in net. Elliott is 6-3-0 with a 2.12 GAA and three shutouts in his career against the Flyers.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Mark Streit, Sam Gagner, Andrew MacDonald, Vincent Lecavalier, Luke Schenn
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 28 Claude Giroux | 10 Brayden Schenn |
| 24 Matt Read | 14 Sean Couturier | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 20 R.J. Umberger | 21 Scott Laughton | 25 Ryan White |
| Defense | ||
| 15 Michael Del Zotto | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| 55 Nick Schultz | 82 Evgeny Medvedev | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| Goalie | ||
| 30 Michal Neuvirth |
Andrew MacDonald played well on Tuesday, but with Radko Gudas returning from suspension, the veteran defenseman will be a healthy scratch on Thursday. The rest of the Flyers lineup remains the same.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (23rd, T-18th on road), Blues (T-24th, 29th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th, 15th on road), Blues (2nd, 6th at home)
- The Flyers split the two games against the Blues last season. They claimed a 3-1 win at home over the Blues on March 5, with Michael Del Zotto, Wayne Simmonds and Michael Raffl scoring goals. They fell, 1-0, in a shootout in St. Louis on March 12 with Brian Elliott and Steve Mason each getting shutouts.
- Flyers leaders vs. Blues
- Jake Voracek – 23 games, 6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points
- Wayne Simmonds – 16 games, 3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points
- R.J. Umberger – 33 games, 11 goals, 9 assists, 20 points
- Michal Neuvirth – 2 games, 1-1-0, 4.00 GAA, .857 SV%
- Milestone Watch: Wayne Simmonds needs one assist to reach 100 as a Flyer and one point to reach 300 for his career.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
