Flyers-Penguins: 2019 Stadium Series Preview

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Pittsburgh Penguins	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	61	17	44	61	Sidney Crosby	58	25	48	73
Sean Couturier	59	24	32	56	Evgeni Malkin	55	18	44	62
Jake Voracek	61	15	35	50	Phil Kessel	61	21	41	62
Travis Konecny	61	18	19	37	Jake Guentzel	61	28	27	55
James van Riemsdyk	45	15	14	29	Kris Letang	59	15	37	52

 

Player to Watch
28 Claude Giroux	71 Evgeni Malkin
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -3	Last 5 Games: 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, -2

 

It's not often that Claude Giroux goes on dry spells like this. He's been held without a point in the last four games. Given the atmosphere and the milestone of reaching 800 games played as a Flyers — on the third in franchise history to do that — this could be a game where he steps up and makes a big impact. He also practiced back on the wing on Friday, so the switch could get his offense going again.

 

On any other night, it would always be Sidney Crosby to watch for the Penguins, but since Feb. 11, Evgeni Malkin has been a bigger target of fans' ire. Malkin took a swing at Michael Raffl with his stick late in the Penguins win in Philadelphia that night, and got a one-game suspension for it. Since the suspension, he has scored four goals and added two assists in four games. 

 

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	30 Matt Murray
16 GP, 6-7-0, 2.51 GAA, .916 SV%	30 GP, 18-10-1, 2.94 GAA, .913 SV%

It's been a long road back for Brian Elliott, who gets a chance here with Carter Hart out with injury. Elliott entered for Hart in relief in each of the last two games, making 22 saves on 23 shots against Tampa Bay on Tuesday and 29 saves on 31 shots against Montreal on Thursday. It will be his first start since Nov. 15. 

No surprises here, Matt Murray gets the start for the Penguins on Saturday. Murray was stellar in his game against the Flyers on Feb. 11, making 50 saves on 51 shots. He followed that up with 38 saves on 39 shots against Edmonton two days later. Since then, Murray has looked a little more human. He stopped 19 of 24 shots in a loss to Calgary last Saturday and made 33 saves on 36 shots in a win over New Jersey on Tuesday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Carter Hart, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Radko Gudas

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	19 Nolan Patrick	11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
12 Michael Raffl	21 Scott Laughton	17 Wayne Simmonds
25 James van Riemsdyk	44 Phil Varone	27 Justin Bailey
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	47 Andrew MacDonald
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Outside of the goalie, the rest of the lineup remains the same, though the lines have been adjusted.

Penguins Projected Lineup

Injuries: Olli Maatta

Scratches: Teddy Blueger, Garrett Wilson, Juuso Riikola

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
59 Jake Guentzel	87 Sidney Crosby	17 Bryan Rust
46 Zach Aston-Reese	71 Evgeni Malkin	81 Phil Kessel
19 Jared McCann	27 Nick Bjugstad	72 Patric Hornqvist
14 Tanner Pearson	7 Matt Cullen	12 Dominik Simon
Defense
8 Brian Dumoulin	58 Kris Letang
73 Jack Johnson	4 Justin Schultz
28 Marcus Pettersson	2 Chad Ruhwedel
Goalie
30 Matt Murray

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (23rd, 16th at home), Penguins (6th, 2nd on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (28th, 23rd at home), Penguins (T-12th, 1st on road) 
• Recent History vs. Penguins
  • Dec. 1, 2018 – Flyers 4, Penguins 2 (at PIT)
  • Feb. 11, 2019 – Penguins 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Penguins
  • Claude Giroux -46 GP, 15 G, 32 A, 47 P
  • Jake Voracek – 38 GP, 20 G, 18 A, 38 P
  • Shayne Gostisbehere – 14 GP, 3 G, 10 A, 13 P
  • Wayne Simmonds – 34 GP, 13 G, 11 A, 24 P
  • Brian Elliott – 13 GP, 7-3-2, 2.87 GAA, .918 SV%
• Milestone Watch
  • Claude Giroux is playing in his 800th NHL game tonight.
  • Sean Couturier needs two assists to reach 200 for his career.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic