Flyers-Red Wings: Game 32 Preview

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Detroit Red Wings	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	31	11	28	39	Dylan Larkin	34	14	18	32
Jake Voracek	31	8	17	25	Gustav Nyquist	34	9	21	30
Sean Couturier	29	13	11	24	Andreas Athanasiou	30	11	9	20
Travis Konecny	31	9	10	19	Frans Nielsen	30	5	15	20
Wayne Simmonds	31	10	4	14	Tyler Bertuzzi	32	9	9	18

 

Player to Watch
19 Nolan Patrick	72 Andreas Athanasiou
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, E

 

Nolan Patrick has struggled mightily of late. His last goal was on Nov. 10. He has just one point in the 14 games since. Yet Patrick could be on the first line with Claude Giroux and Travis Konecny if the lines from Monday's practice hold up. This is an opportunity for him to get going, and the Flyers certainly need him to soon.

 

Speed is the name of Andreas Athanasiou's game and if he can use it to expose the Flyers, he's got finishing ability. He hasn't scored a goal in nine games, but the Flyers have been a cure for goal slumps lately. 

 

Goalie Matchup
79 Carter Hart	35 Jimmy Howard
0 GP, 0-0-0, -.– GAA, .— SV%	23 GP, 10-7-4, 2.69 GAA, .922 SV%

It's the moment many have waited for. Ready or not, Carter Hart is in for the Flyers. Hart was called up on Monday and will make his NHL debut on Tuesday night.

Jimmy Howard has been fairly steady for the Red Wings this season, picking up 10 wins in his 22 starts with a solid .922 save percentage. Howard has wins in three of his last five starts.

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	11 Travis Konecny
17 Wayne Simmonds	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	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

Phil Varone and Oskar Lindblom are back in the lineup on the fourth line with Jordan Weal and Jori Lehtera sitting out. The forward lines were shuffled at Monday's practice, but remained the same on Tuesday. The defensive pairs had a new look on Tuesday morning as well.

Red Wings Projected Lineup

Injuries: Evgeny Svechnikov, Danny Dekeyser, Anthony Mantha, Mike Green

Scratches: Darren Helm, Wade Megan, Luke Witkowski, 

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
14 Gustav Nyquist	71 Dylan Larkin	8 Justin Abdelkader
26 Thomas Vanek	51 Frans Nielsen	72 Andreas Athanasiou
59 Tyler Bertuzzi	41 Luke Glendening	27 Michael Rasmussen
70 Christoffer Ehn	61 Jacob De La Rose	42 Martin Frk
Defense
55 Niklas Kronwall	3 Nick Jensen
21 Dennis Cholowski	83 Trevor Daley
52 Jonathan Ericsson	17 Filip Hronek
Goalie
35 Jimmy Howard

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (29th, T-26th at home), Red Wings (21st, 7th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, T-25th at home), Red Wings (T-18th, 3rd on road) 
• Recent History vs. Red Wings
  • Dec. 20, 2017 – Flyers 4, Red Wings 3 (at PHI)
  • Jan. 23, 2018 – Flyers 3, Red Wings 2 (F/OT) (at DET)
  • March 20, 2018 – Red Wings 5, Flyers 4 (F/SO) (at DET)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Red Wings
  • Claude Giroux – 20 GP, 7 G, 18 A, 25 P
  • Sean Couturier – 16 GP, 6 G, 6 A, 12 P
  • Jake Voracek – 33 GP, 6 G, 18 A, 24 P
  • James van Riemsdyk – 21 GP, 8 G, 5 A, 13 P
• Milestone Watch
  • Wayne Simmonds needs three goals to reach 200 as a Flyer.
  • Jake Voracek plays in his 800th NHL game tonight.

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