Flyers-Flames: Game 23 Preview

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Calgary Flames	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	22	8	15	23	Matthew Tkachuk	25	10	10	20
Claude Giroux	22	7	10	17	Johnny Gaudreau	25	5	13	18
Oskar Lindblom	22	9	7	16	Sean Monahan	25	5	13	18
Sean Couturier	22	6	9	15	Elias Lindholm	25	10	7	17
Ivan Provorov	22	5	9	14	Mark Giordano	25	4	9	13

 

Player to Watch
48 Morgan Frost	13 Johnny Gaudreau
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 1 A, 3 P, E	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, -10

 

Morgan Frost has started his NHL career with two excellent games and scored in both, becoming just the sixth player in franchise history to score in his first two NHL games. In the 53-year history of the Flyers, no rookie player has scored in his first three NHL games. All eyes will be on Frost as he pursues history.

 

The six-game losing streak has been a struggle for Johnny Gaudreau. In the last six games, he has just one assist and is a minus-11. In addition, Gaudreau's name has come up in trade rumors, and while GM Brad Treliving has said no moves to the coaching staff or top players are coming, it hasn't silenced much surrounding the Flames and their struggles.

 

Projected Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	33 David Rittich
14 GP, 6-5-2, 2.72 GAA, .896 SV%	19 GP, 9-7-3, 2.85 GAA, .909 SV%

Carter Hart gets back between the pipes for the Flyers on Saturday. Hart was pulled in the second period of the Flyers 5-2 loss to Florida on Tuesday after allowing four goals on 18 shots. 

David Rittich is expected to get the start for the Flames on Saturday. Rittich has been in goal for the last three games of the six-game losing streak, allowing five goals in Thursday's loss to the Blues. Rittich did make 21 saves in a 3-1 win over the Flyers on Oct. 15.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick

Scratches: Chris Stewart, Robert Hagg

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
28 Claude Giroux	48 Morgan Frost	11 Travis Konecny
49 Joel Farabee	13 Kevin Hayes	21 Scott Laughton
25 James van Riemsdyk	12 Michael Raffl	18 Tyler Pitlick
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Justin Braun
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
Goalie
79 Carter Hart	37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Scott Laughton returns to the lineup and is expected to skate on the third line with Joel Farabee and Kevin Hayes. Tyler Pitlick moves to the fourth line. Ivan Provorov missed practice on Friday, taking a maintenance day. He is considered a game-time decision, but is expected to play.

Flames Projected Lineup

Injuries: Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, Juuso Valimaki, T.J. Brodie, Travis Hamonic

Scratches: Tobias Rieder, Alexander Yelesin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
13 Johnny Gaudreau	11 Mikael Backlund	19 Matthew Tkachuk
88 Andrew Mangiapane	23 Sean Monahan	28 Elias Lindholm
17 Milan Lucic	10 Derek Ryan	29 Dillon Dube
36 Zac Rinaldo	77 Mark Jankowski	67 Michael Frolik
Defense
5 Mark Giordano	4 Rasmus Andersson
55 Noah Hanifin	26 Michael Stone
58 Oliver Kylington	6 Brandon Davidson
Goalie
33 David Rittich	39 Cam Talbot

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (14th), Flames (23rd)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (6th), Flames (5th)
• Recent History vs. Flames
  • Dec. 12, 2018 – Flames 6, Flyers 5 (F/OT) (at CGY)
  • Jan. 5, 2019 – Flames 3, Flyers 2 (F/OT) (at PHI)
  • Oct. 15, 2019 – Flames 3, Flyers 1 (at CGY)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Flames***
  • Jake Voracek – 25 GP, 5 G, 16 A, 21 P
  • Claude Giroux – 17 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P
  • Kevin Hayes – 10 GP, 3 G, 4 A, 7 P
  • Sean Couturier – 13 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 P
  • Carter Hart – 1 GP, 0-0-1, 2.90 GAA, .906 SV%
• Milestone Watch
  • Jake Voracek needs one goal to reach 200 for his career.
  • Kevin Hayes needs three goals to reach 100 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN