Flyers return home for a showdown with Chicago

The Philadelphia Flyers (29-9-16) return home from a four game Canadian road trip to host the Chicago Blackhawks (44-22-6) at the Wells Fargo Center. This is the second and final meeting of the season and the lone game in Philadelphia. The Blackhawks defeated the Flyers back in October by a score of 4-0 in Chicago. Game time is 8:00.

After a seven goal outburst against Detroit in their last home game, The Flyers offense went frigid. They managed just one goal in each of the first three games on the road trip. In final game of the trip the offense woke up but the defense and goal tending fell asleep and the result was an 0-2-2 mark.

The Flyers have just eight games remaining and are currently 11 points out of the final playoff spot. At this point the team is just playing out the string. There are some individual accomplishments still at stake.

Jakub Voracek sits one point back of the league lead. While the winger will always tell you his own personal accomplishments are buried way below team goals, the Flyers have never had an outright Art Ross trophy winner. It also is a chance for something positive to come from an otherwise disappointing season.

Tonight will also mark the fourth game for Nick Cousins.  He is still in search of his first NHL point but the young forward has played well in his brief stint with big club. He will most likely center a line with Ryan White and Zac Rinaldo.

Despite his win/loss record, Steve Mason has been spectacular. The Flyers unquestionable number one goalie is perhaps the only reason the team had a chance at the postseason a few weeks ago. He figures to get the start tonight.

Chicago has been able to stay the course since losing All Star winger Patrick Kane to a broken clavicle. At the time of the injury, Kane was pacing the NHL in scoring.

The Blackhawks made a few key moves at the deadline to keep things running smoothly. They acquired forward Antoine Vermette from Arizona to add scoring depth and Kimmo Timonen to solidify the back end.

This will be Timonen's first game back in Philly since the deal and with his impending retirement at season's end, also his last. A leader both on and off the ice, Timonen brings a calming influence to the Hawks defense.

While this game might not mean much to Philadelphia's postseason fate, it most certainly does for the Blackhawks. Chicago sits just four points behind Nashville and five behind St. Louis in the race for the Central division crown.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (3rd), Hawks (23rd) 
  
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (29th), Hawks (10th) 
• This is the first of five remaining home games on the season. The Flyers will play just three more times on the road

Flyers scratches: R.J Umberger, Luke Schenn, Radko Gudas, Vincent Lecavalier

Flyers Projected Lineup

Line 1:  Michael Raffl-Claude Giroux-Wayne Simmonds
Line 2: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Ryan White-Nick Cousins-Zac Rinaldo
Line 4:Chris VandeVelde-Pierre-Edouard Bellemare-Brayden Schenn

D-Pair 1: Nick Schultz-Michael Del Zotto
D-Pair 2: Nicklas Grossmann- Mark Streit
D-Pair 3:Carlo Colaiacovo-Andrew MacDonald

Goalie: Steve Mason

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic 

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074