Flyers

Flyers-Flames: Game 29 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published12 Dec 2018

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(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

The Flyers five-game road trip started with two very different results over the weekend. After rallying for a 6-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, they were handed another lopsided defeat, 7-1, in Winnipeg on Sunday.

For the Flyers to avoid more significant changes as the season progresses, finding some consistency in the results is imperative. The next chance for a victory comes on Wednesday night against the Pacific Division leading Calgary Flames.

Game time is at 8:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Calgary Flames	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	28	11	25	36	Johnny Gaudreau	31	12	27	39
Jake Voracek	28	8	15	23	Sean Monahan	31	18	17	35
Sean Couturier	26	10	10	20	Elias Lindholm	31	16	18	34
Travis Konecny	28	9	10	19	Matthew Tkachuk	31	13	20	33
Wayne Simmonds	28	10	4	14	Mark Giordano	29	3	26	29

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	13 Johnny Gaudreau
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, E	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 8 A, 10 P, +8

Sean Couturier figures to return to the lineup in a bit of a new role, the second-line center. It will be interesting what that decision does for the Flyers in the short-term.

Johnny Gaudreau was actually held scoreless in his last game, but then again, so were the rest of his teammates. Otherwise, the South Jersey product is on a roll, with 10 points in the previous four games.

Goalie Matchup
41 Anthony Stolarz	41 Mike Smith
6 GP, 2-1-1, 3.39 GAA, .898 SV%	19 GP, 11-7-1, 2.88 GAA, .894 SV%

Anthony Stolarz came on in relief on Sunday in a 3-1 game after a solid afternoon in Buffalo on Saturday and got lit up for four more goals. It's certainly difficult for Stolarz to be put in that situation cold. He should be able to fully prepare as the starter for Wednesday.

Mike Smith still gets the bulk of the starts for the Flames, but nothing is certain with David Rittich experiencing a lot of success in the crease this season.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Brian Elliott, Corban Knight

Scratches: Jori Lehtera, Jordan Weal, Christian Folin

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

Lineup Notes

With Sean Couturier back in the lineup, Jori Lehtera exits. The rest of the roster is the same for Wednesday with a lot of shuffling within the lines.

Flames Projected Lineup

Injuries: Michael Stone, Michael Frolik, Mikael Backlund

Scratches: Dalton Prout, Ryan Lomberg

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
13 Johnny Gaudreau	23 Sean Monahan	28 Elias Lindholm
19 Matthew Tkachuk	10 Derek Ryan	27 Austin Czarnik
88 Andrew Mangiapane	77 Mark Jankowski	18 James Neal
93 Sam Bennett	89 Alan Quine	21 Garnet Hathaway
Defense
5 Mark Giordano	7 T.J. Brodie
55 Noah Hanifin	24 Travis Hamonic
58 Oliver Kylington	4 Rasmus Andersson
Goalie
41 Mike Smith

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (29th, 27th on road), Flames (12th, 5th at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (31st, 30th on road), Flames (18th, 30th at home)
Recent History vs. Flames
- Nov. 18, 2017 – Flames 5, Flyers 4 (F/OT) (at PHI)
- Dec. 4, 2017 – Flyers 5, Flames 2 (at CGY)
Flyers Leaders vs. Flames
- Jake Voracek – 22 GP, 5 G, 15 A, 20 P
- Claude Giroux – 14 GP, 2 G, 10 A, 12 P
- Scott Laughton – 4 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
Milestone Watch
- James van Riemsdyk needs one point to reach 400 in his career.
- Wayne Simmonds needs three goals to reach 200 as a Flyer.
- Robert Hagg will play in his 100th NHL game tonight.