Flyers

Flyers-Blue Jackets: Game 42 Preview

Bill Minchin Sports Editor

Published08 Jan 2017

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(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)

By Bill Minchin, Sports Talk Philly writer

The Philadelphia Flyers (21-15-5) look to make it back to back wins as they head to Ohio for a showdown with the division leading Columbus Blue Jackets (27-7-4) on Sunday night. This is the first of four meetings between the two teams and first of two in Columbus. The opening face-off is set for 6 p.m.

Columbus has lost it's last two games following a 16 game winning streak. Their 58 points leads the NHL.

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Blue Jackets Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	41	13	26	39	Cam Atkinson	38	19	20	39
Claude Giroux	41	10	24	34	Nick Foligno	36	13	21	34
Wayne Simmonds	41	17	15	32	Alexander Wennberg	38	8	26	34
Brayden Schenn	38	11	15	26	Brandon Saad	38	14	19	33
Travis Konecny	40	6	14	20	Sam Gagner	37	14	16	30

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	89 Sam Gagner
Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, +2	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 3 A, 3 P, +3

Travis Konecny was one of the most noticeable Flyers on the ice yesterday afternoon. The rookie winger seemed to get scoring chances every time he touched the puck. Konecny will look to continue his strong play tonight.

Former Flyers winger Sam Gagner has seen a rebirth this season in Columbus. Gagner was never able to keep a spot in the lineup in his one season in Philadelphia. It has been the total opposite with the Blue Jackets. Gagner is a key contributor to the Jackets offense scoring 30 pts in 37 games so far this season.

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	72 Sergei Bobrovsky
14-13-5, 2.82 GAA, .903 SV%	25-6-2, 2.03 GAA, .930 SV%

Steve Mason got the day off yesterday as Michal Neuvirth returned to the lineup for the Flyers. Mason looks to get the start tonight. He will look to find the consistency he had in leading the Flyers to a 10 game win streak earlier this season.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been outstanding this season for Columbus. His 25 wins leads the NHL in that department and he is once again playing up to his Vezina Trophy level of play. The Flyers will have heir hands full trying to get a win against their former netminder.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Nick Cousins, Brandon Manning, Mark Streit

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl	28 Claude Giroux	24 Matt Read
11 Travis Konecny	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
22 Dale Weise	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	27 Boyd Gordon
Defense
3 Radko Gudas	15 Michael Del Zotto
47 Andrew MacDonald	9 Ivan Provorov
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	55 Nick Schultz
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (9th, 10th on the road), Blue Jackets (1st, 1st at home)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (18th, 22nd on the road), Blue Jackets (15th, 15th at home)
Recent History vs. Columbus
- Last season the Flyers went 1-1-2 versus the Jackets losing both games in Columbus and splitting the two games in Philadelphia
- The Flyers have lost each of the last 8 games played in Columbus

Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic