With the regular season winding down, the Metropolitan Division is in an absolute dogfight to the finish. In the third playoff spot, the Flyers sit four points behind Pittsburgh and Washington with 81 points, while New Jersey (80 points) and Columbus (79) sit right on their heels in both wild card spots.
For the Flyers, they have a chance to gain some ground, hosting that same Blue Jackets team that can tie them with two points. Though the Flyers snapped a five-game skid last weekend, they took a step back with a home loss to Vegas, so they'll take all they can get here.
Game time is set for 7 p.m.
Team Leaders
Philadelphia Flyers | GP | G | A | P | Columbus Blue Jackets | GP | G | A | P |
Claude Giroux | 70 | 25 | 57 | 82 | Artemi Panarin | 70 | 21 | 40 | 61 |
Jake Voracek | 70 | 16 | 59 | 75 | Seth Jones | 70 | 14 | 34 | 48 |
Sean Couturier | 70 | 29 | 35 | 64 | Pierre-Luc Dubois | 70 | 15 | 22 | 37 |
Shayne Gostisbehere | 66 | 10 | 41 | 51 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 70 | 10 | 25 | 35 |
Wayne Simmonds | 63 | 21 | 18 | 39 | Zach Werenski | 66 | 14 | 18 | 32 |
Player to Watch | |
28 Claude Giroux | 3 Seth Jones |
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, +1 | Last 5 Games: 4 G, 3 A, 7 P, +3 |
Goalie Matchup | |
34 Petr Mrazek | 29 Marc-Andre Fleury |
12-11-4, 2.88 GAA, .906 SV% | 24-9-3, 2.16 GAA, .930 SV% |
Petr Mrazek will start for the Flyers, making his third consecutive start. He made 26 saves on 29 shots in Monday's loss to Vegas, after a dominant outing against Winnipeg that saw him allow one goal.
With wins in three of four starts this March, Sergei Bobrovsky will take the reigns for the Jackets. He turned in a strong 38-save performance in a 5-2 win against Montreal on Monday.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Injuries: Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth, Robert Hagg, Johnny Oduya
Scratches: Jordan Weal, Dale Weise, Taylor Leier
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
28 Claude Giroux | 14 Sean Couturier | 11 Travis Konecny |
54 Oskar Lindblom | 19 Nolan Patrick | 93 Jake Voracek |
12 Michael Raffl | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
15 Jori Lehtera | 21 Scott Laughton | 24 Matt Read |
Defense | ||
9 Ivan Provorov | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
6 Travis Sanheim | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
Goalie | ||
34 Petr Mrazek |
Lineup Notes
Expect the Flyers to roll out the same lines as Monday night. Per NHL.com's Adam Kimelman, Brian Elliott was on the ice for morning skate.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Injuries: Reilly Smith, Will Carrier, Malcolm Subban, Luca Sbisa, James Neal, Oscar Lindberg
Scratches: Jon Merrill, Zach Whitecloud
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
9 Artemi Panarin | 18 Pierre-Luc Dubois | 13 Cam Atkinson |
22 Sonny Milano | 71 Nick Foligno | 28 Oliver Bjorkstrand |
38 Boone Jenner | 10 Alexander Wennberg | 26 Thomas Vanek |
11 Matt Calvert | 17 Brandon Dubinsky | 55 Mark Letestu |
Defense | ||
8 Zach Werenski | 3 Seth Jones | |
7 Jack Johnson | 65 Markus Nuutivaara | |
23 Ian Cole | 58 David Savard | |
Goalie | ||
72 Sergei Bobrovsky |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (18th, 22nd at home), Blue Jackets (29th, 31st on road)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (30th, 30th at home), Blue Jackets (24th, 30th on road)
- Recent History vs. Blue Jackets
- Feb. 22, 2018 – Flyers 2, Blue Jackets 1 (at PHI)
- Feb. 16, 2018 – Flyers 2, Blue Jackets 1 – F/OT (at CBJ)
- Dec. 23, 2017 – Blue Jackets 2, Flyers 1 – F/OT (at CBJ)
- Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier remains one goal from 100 in his career.
- Jake Voracek is three assists away 300 as a Flyer.
- Valtteri Filppula is six assists away from 200 in his career
Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 93.3 WMMR