Flyers-Predators: Game 33 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Nashville Predators	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	32	11	29	39	Ryan Johansen	35	5	25	30
Jake Voracek	32	8	17	25	Roman Josi	35	7	19	26
Sean Couturier	30	13	11	24	Mattias Ekholm	35	3	19	22
Travis Konecny	32	9	11	20	Craig Smith	35	10	7	17
Shayne Gostisbehere	32	4	11	15	Kevin Fiala	35	6	11	17

 

Player to Watch
6 Travis Sanheim	59 Roman Josi
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, +2	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, -2

 

Travis Sanheim played on the top pairing in Tuesday's win and saw some increased minutes. He figures to see the ice a lot again against a strong offensive team in Nashville. He's handled himself well in his second season to this point and this is another chance to show his growth and development.

 

In a season that has been marred by injuries, but still successful for Nashville, Roman Josi has been one of the constants. Josi has 26 points, including seven goals this season and the captain is certainly leading by example on many nights. 

 

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	35 Pekka Rinne
1 GP, 1-0-0, 2.00 GAA, .909 SV%	24 GP, 14-6-1, 2.07 GAA, .927 SV%

In his NHL debut, Carter Hart got the win making 20 saves. He gets another shot against much tougher competition on Thursday against the Predators.

Pekka Rinne continues to be one of the NHL's elite netminders. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is off to a great start this season and looks to continue his success on Thursday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Anthony Stolarz, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Jordan Weal, Christian Folin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	19 Nolan Patrick	12 Michael Raffl
17 Wayne Simmonds	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	11 Travis Konecny
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 to the lineup for the Flyers from Tuesday's game. Under Scott Gordon, the lines are subject to change as well. Claude Giroux shifted to center and played with James van Riemsdyk and Travis Konecny in Tuesday's game, even though pre-game line combinations were similar to the above.

Predators Projected Lineup

Injuries: Viktor Arvidsson, Filip Forsberg, P.K. Subban, Colton Sissons

Scratches: Rocco Grimaldi, Anthony Bitetto, Dan Hamhuis 

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
38 Ryan Hartman	92 Ryan Johansen	22 Kevin Fiala
19 Calle Jarnkrok	8 Kyle Turris	15 Craig Smith
20 Miikko Salomaki	13 Nick Bonino	51 Austin Watson
36 Zac Rinaldo	91 Tyler Gaudet	89 Frederick Gaudreau
Defense
59 Roman Josi	4 Ryan Ellis
5 Dan Hamhuis	14 Mattias Ekholm
52 Matt Irwin	7 Yannick Weber
Goalie
35 Pekka Rinne

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (29th, 27th at home), Predators (T-25th, T-25th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, T-26th at home), Predators (11th, T-14th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Predators
  • Oct. 10, 2017 – Predators 6, Flyers 5 (at NSH)
  • Oct. 19, 2017 – Predators 1, Flyers 0 (at PHI)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Predators
  • Claude Giroux – 15 GP, 6 G, 8 A, 14 P
  • James van Riemsdyk – 11 GP, 7 G, 3 A, 10 P
  • Shayne Gostisbehere – 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
  • Wayne Simmonds – 24 GP, 10 G, 6 A, 16 P
• Milestone Watch
  • Jake Voracek needs two points 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