Flyers

Flyers-Canucks: Game 31 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published15 Dec 2018

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(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

A long road trip filled with defeats of different kinds comes to a close on Saturday night. For the Flyers, Friday's lifeless game may be rock bottom when it comes to forcing changes from new GM Chuck Fletcher.

Whatever happens from here, things will remain the same with the makeup of the team for one more night, as the Flyers close a five-game road trip in Vancouver against the Canucks.

Game time is at 10 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Vancouver Canucks	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	30	11	28	39	Elias Petterson	28	16	17	33
Jake Voracek	30	9	16	25	Bo Horvat	34	15	14	29
Sean Couturier	28	12	11	23	Nikolay Goldobin	33	5	14	19
Travis Konecny	30	9	10	19	Brock Boeser	21	10	8	18
Wayne Simmonds	30	10	4	14	Jake Virtanen	34	10	5	15

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	53 Bo Horvat
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 2 A, 3 P, -2	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 1 A, 4 P, +2

Travis Konecny has been one of the many Flyers in an offensive slump over the last few games. He's gone three straight games without a point and is a minus-4 in the last three games.

Bo Horvat may not be the team leader in points, but he's a central part of the Canucks lineup, playing in all situation. He's one of the team's power-play specialists, a shorthanded threat and solid in the face-off circle. In many games, even when the points aren't there, he's the Canucks best all-around player.

Goalie Matchup
34 Alex Lyon	25 Jakob Markstrom
1 GP, 0-1-0, 12.00 GAA, .667 SV%	23 GP, 11-9-3, 3.14 GAA, .901 SV%

Alex Lyon made one start this season…and it was a disaster. He lasted through the first period of a game in Buffalo on Nov. 21, allowing four goals on 12 shots before being pulled. Anthony Stolarz has been carrying the Flyers in goal for the last two weeks. This is a spot where the Flyers will likely give Lyon a shot.

It's been a difficult season for Jakob Markstrom. His 3.14 GAA is not very good, but he's been solid in several games as well for the Canucks. Vancouver's top netminder likely gets the call on Saturday.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Jordan Weal, Christian Folin, Michal Neuvirth

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

Lineup Notes

No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup for Saturday.

Canucks Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brandon Sutter, Sven Baertschi

Scratches: Tim Schaller, Alex Biega, Michael Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
77 Nikolay Goldobin	53 Bo Horvat	18 Jake Virtanen
17 Josh Leivo	40 Elias Pettersson	6 Brock Boeser
26 Antoine Roussel	88 Adam Gaudette	21 Loui Eriksson
60 Markus Granlund	83 Jay Beagle	64 Tyler Motte
Defense
23 Alexander Edler	8 Chris Tanev
27 Ben Hutton	44 Erik Gudbranson
5 Derrick Pouliot	51 Troy Stecher
Goalie
25 Jakob Markstrom

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (29th, 28th on road), Canucks (21st, 20th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (31st, 28th on road), Canucks (24th, 20th at home)
Recent History vs. Canucks
- Nov. 21, 2017 – Canucks 5, Flyers 2 (at PHI)
- Dec. 7, 2017 – Flyers 4, Canucks 1 (at VAN)
Milestone Watch
- Wayne Simmonds needs three goals to reach 200 as a Flyer.