Flyers

Flyers-Panthers: Game 18 Preview

Kevin Durso Sports Editor

Published13 Nov 2018

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(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Two games are down in the five-game homestand for the Flyers and so far, the results have been a smashing success. Two wins over the Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks have extended the Flyers winning streak to three games and their points streak to six games.

All of this has happened against Western Conference opponents. For the first time in over two weeks, the Flyers face a team from the Eastern Conference, welcoming the Florida Panthers back to Wells Fargo Center for the second time this season.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Florida Panthers	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	17	7	15	22	Evgenii Dadonov	14	7	9	16
Jake Voracek	17	4	12	16	Keith Yandle	14	3	12	15
Sean Couturier	17	7	4	11	Mike Hoffman	14	7	7	14
Wayne Simmonds	17	7	3	10	Jonathan Huberdeau	14	4	10	14
Nolan Patrick	14	5	4	9	Alexandre Barkov	14	5	8	13

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	16 Aleksander Barkov
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 4 A, 7 P, +7	Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +1

During the Flyers three-game winning streak, Sean Couturier has played a huge role in the top line making a resurgence. Couturier scored twice in the Flyers last game on Saturday and has seven points in the last five games. He's also a plus-7 during that time, meaning that the team's top line has been clicking.

When the two teams met in Philadelphia in October, Aleksander Barkov scored the game-tying goal on a breakaway and added a goal in the shootout, proving to be very dangerous in scoring areas. Barkov does have three goals in the last five games.

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	1 Roberto Luongo
6-5-0, 2.67 GAA, .909 SV%	3-0-0, 1.42 GAA, .952 SV%

Saturday was Brian Elliott's best game so far this season, making 33 saves in a shutout win. Elliott has been perfect since returning from injury. He made 16 saves in relief on Thursday in the Flyers overtime win against Arizona.

Roberto Luongo has seen limited action this season due to an injury suffered in Florida's season opener, but has a perfect 3-0-0 and a 1.42 GAA since returning. Luongo has won all three starts since returning to action on Nov. 2, allowing two goals or less in all three games. In 26 career starts against the Flyers, Luongo has a 10-11-3 record with a 2.76 GAA.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: James van Riemsdyk, Michael Raffl, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Andrew MacDonald

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	11 Travis Konecny
23 Oskar Lindblom	19 Nolan Patrick	93 Jake Voracek
22 Dale Weise	40 Jordan Weal	17 Wayne Simmonds
21 Scott Laughton	15 Jori Lehtera	62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	8 Robert Hagg
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	26 Christian Folin
6 Travis Sanheim	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

James van Riemsdyk was cleared for contact and Monday and is nearing a return. Radko Gudas missed Monday's practice on a maintenance day. For Tuesday's game, the lineup is expected to remain the same as in the last two games.

Panthers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jamie McGinn, Mark Pysyk, Derek MacKenzie

Scratches: Maxim Mamin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
63 Evgenii Dadonov	16 Aleksander Barkov	68 Mike Hoffman
11 Jonathan Huberdeau	21 Vincent Trocheck	72 Frank Vatrano
62 Denis Malgin	90 Jared McCann	27 Nick Bjugstad
22 Troy Brouwer	91 Juho Lammikko	7 Colton Sceviour
Defense
19 Mike Matheson	5 Aaron Ekblad
3 Keith Yandle	6 Alex Petrovic
55 Bogdan Kiselevich	52 Mackenzie Weegar
Goalie
1 Roberto Luongo

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (28th, 29th at home), Panthers (13th, 5th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 29th at home), Panthers (26th, T-20th on road)
Recent History vs. Panthers
- Oct. 17, 2017 – Flyers 5, Panthers 1 (at PHI)
- Dec. 28, 2017 – Panthers 3, Flyers 2 (at FLA)
- March 4, 2018 – Panthers 4, Flyers 1 (at FLA)
- Oct. 16, 2018 – Flyers 6, Panthers 5 (F/SO) (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Panthers
- Claude Giroux – 35 GP, 9 G, 15 A, 24 P
- Travis Konecny – 6 GP, 1 G, 4 A, 5 P
- Shayne Gostisbehere – 8 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 P
- Brian Elliott – 11 GP, 6-3-0, 2.64 GAA, .912 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Claude Giroux needs one point to reach 700 for his career.
- Giroux also needs three assists to pass Brian Propp for 2nd all-time in Flyers history.