(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)They will look to close out their four-game road swing out on even footing, as they visit PPG Paints Arena to close out their season series with the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team still neck-and-neck for the Metro Division lead. Sitting at 1-2 against the Pens this season, the Flyers have a chance to close out this series evenly as well.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Penguins Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Jake Voracek | 74 | 18 | 38 | 56 | Sidney Crosby | 68 | 42 | 40 | 82 |
| Claude Giroux | 74 | 14 | 39 | 53 | Evgeni Malkin | 62 | 33 | 39 | 72 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 74 | 29 | 20 | 49 | Phil Kessel | 74 | 22 | 43 | 65 |
| Brayden Schenn | 71 | 22 | 26 | 48 | Conor Sheary | 54 | 21 | 29 | 50 |
| Valtteri Filppula | 71 | 8 | 29 | 37 | Justin Schultz | 71 | 12 | 36 | 48 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 24 Matt Read | 87 Sidney Crosby |
| Last 5 Games: 2 G, 0 A, 0 P, +2 | Last 5 Games: 7 G, 1 A, 8 P, +5 |
While Sean Couturier couldn't get on the board yesterday — then again, who could? — he's been steady the past few games, and found twine against Minnesota and Winnipeg. This was enough to elevate him back on the top line, where he will reprise his role tonight. He's been on the doorstep for 100 career assists, and what better way to hit it than against a divisional rival.
Sidney Crosby has been the league's most talked-about player over the past few days, but not for the usual reasons. Between a spear to Buffalo's Ryan O'Reilly and a chop to Ottawa's Marc Methot that lopped off part of his finger in the game after, Crosby has returned to the controversy limelight. He was shut down entirely in his last game against the Orange and Black, and it's worth seeing if that can be duplicated.
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 35 Steve Mason | 30 Matt Murray |
| 22-21-7, 2.73 GAA, .906 SV% | 28-9-4, 2.34 GAA, .925 SV% |
Steve Mason figures to return between the pipes for the Flyers, after sitting out on Saturday. He madd 24 saves in his last outing on Thursday against the Wild, and blanked the Pens with a 23-save shutout on March 15. The Flyers seemed to respond when he (justifiably) called them out after a dismal effort against the Jets, and that should continue.
Matt Murray figures to start for the Penguins. He made 29 saves on 30 shots in a shootout loss against Ottawa in his last outing.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Roman Lyubimov, Michael Del Zotto, Nick Cousins (upper-body injury, day-to-day), Michael Raffl (lower-body injury, out 6-8 weeks)
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 24 Matt Read | 28 Claude Giroux | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 40 Jordan Weal | 51 Valtteri Filppula | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 22 Dale Weise | 14 Sean Couturier | 10 Brayden Schenn |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 11 Travis Konecny |
| Defense | ||
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | 55 Nick Schultz | |
| 23 Brandon Manning | 3 Radko Gudas | |
| Goalie | ||
| 35 Steve Mason |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-15th, 16th on road), Penguins (4th, 3rd at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (22nd, 24th on road), Penguins (T-19th, 13th at home)
- Recent History vs. Penguins
- March 15, 2017 – Less than two weeks ago, both teams met, and the Flyers ensured they wouldn't get swept in the season series with a resounding 4-0 win. Sean Couturier, Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux and Dale Weise each scored, while Steve Mason turned away all 23 shots he faced for his third shutout of the season.
- Milestone Watch
- Matt Read still remains one assist from 100 in his career.
- Claude Giroux needs two goals to move into 15th all-time in Flyers history.
Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
