Flyers-Blue Jackets: Game 34

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Columbus Blue Jackets	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	33	12	29	40	Cam Atkinson	33	20	15	35
Jake Voracek	33	9	17	26	Artemi Panarin	32	9	25	34
Sean Couturier	31	13	12	25	Pierre-Luc Dubois	34	13	15	28
Travis Konecny	32	9	11	20	Seth Jones	27	6	14	20
Shayne Gostisbehere	32	4	11	15	Nick Foligno	33	9	10	19

 

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	3 Seth Jones
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, -3	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, -2

 

Sean Couturier was absent from the final five minutes of Thursday's game after a hit into the boards that went unpenalized. Couturier is going to play despite the hit and a visit to the quiet room. Couturier has been working well with new linemate Jake Voracek in the last two games, so watch that duo as they look to build more success after connecting for a goal in the last game. 

 

Seth Jones scored twice against the Flyers in the last meeting in Philadelphia, including getting the game-winner in overtime. Jones has been one of the top defensemen in the league in terms of offensive numbers and with Columbus on the power play, they will look to set him up for chances.

 

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	72 Sergei Bobrovsky
2 GP, 2-0-0, 1.50 GAA, .944 SV%	25 GP, 14-10-1, 2.78 GAA, .908 SV%

It's worked pretty well in the first two games. Carter Hart will get a third-straight start on Saturday. Hart was impressive in his last game, making 31 saves for his second win in the NHL.

Sergei Bobrovsky looked shaky in his last game in Philadelphia early before stopping 23 shots on his way to a win in overtime. He was pulled after allowing three goals in the first period in his next start against Washington. Since then, Bobrovsky is 3-0-1, has allowed one goal per game and has one shutout, starting to return to form.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Jordan Weal, Christian Folin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
25 James van Riemsdyk	28 Claude Giroux	11 Travis Konecny
17 Wayne Simmonds	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton	19 Nolan Patrick	12 Michael Raffl
23 Oskar Lindblom	44 Phil Varone	22 Dale Weise
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	8 Robert Hagg
47 Andrew MacDonald	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

No changes expected to the lineup for Saturday's game.

Blue Jackets Projected Lineup

Scratches: Lukas Sedlak, Dean Kukan 

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
9 Artemi Panarin	18 Pierre-Luc Dubois	13 Cam Atkinson
71 Nick Foligno	10 Alex Wennberg	91 Anthony Duclair
28 Oliver Bjorkstrand	38 Boone Jenner	77 Josh Anderson
37 Markus Hannikainen	17 Brandon Dubinsky	20 Riley Nash
Defense
27 Ryan Murray	3 Seth Jones
8 Zach Werenski	58 David Savard
4 Scott Harrington	65 Markus Nutivaara
Goalie
72 Sergei Bobrovsky

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (31st, T-28th at home), Blue Jackets (T-26th, T-17th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-28th, T-22nd at home), Blue Jackets (T-14th, T-11th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
  • Oct. 18, 2018 – Blue Jackets 6, Flyers 3 (at CBJ)
  • Dec. 6, 2018 – Blue Jackets 4, Flyers 3 (F/OT) (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Blue Jackets
  • Travis Konecny – 9 GP, 3 G, 6 A, 9 P
  • Claude Giroux – 27 GP, 9 G, 17 A, 26 P
  • Travis Sanheim – 4 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
  • James van Riemsdyk – 17 GP, 7 G, 5 A, 12 P
• Milestone Watch
  • Jake Voracek needs one point to reach 600 in his career
  • Wayne Simmonds needs three goals to reach 200 as a Flyer.
  • James van Riemsdyk needs three assists to reach 200 in his career.

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