Flyers-Blues: Game 37 Preview

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Blues Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	36	11	24	35	Vladimir Tarasenko	35	16	22	38
Claude Giroux	36	10	21	31	Kevin Shattenkirk	35	7	16	23
Wayne Simmonds	36	16	13	29	Jaden Schwartz	31	12	9	21
Brayden Schenn	33	9	12	21	Robby Fabbri	34	8	12	20
Travis Konecny	36	4	12	16	David Perron	35	9	10	19

 

Player to Watch
58 Taylor Leier	91 Vladimir Tarasenko
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, -5

 

Taylor Leier will get a chance on the top line tonight replacing the injured Michael Raffl. Leier has played with speed and grit since his call up from Lehigh Valley in a third or fourth line role. Tonight will be a chance for the 22 year old to show what he can do while playing top line minutes.

 

What else can be said about Valdimir Tarasenko that hasn't been said already. The 25 year old is a threat to put the puck in the net everytime it is on his stick. Coach Hakstol will most likely try to get the Pierre-Edouard Bellemare line out against him as often as he can.

 

With that said, the Giroux line opposite Tarasenko could also favor the Flyers. Tarasenko is not exactly known for his defensive zone prowess

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	40 Carter Hutton
14-10-4, 2.69 GAA, .908 SV%	2-4-2, 2.91 GAA, .893 SV%

Steve Mason figures to be back in the net for the Flyers tonight. Mason was lifted in last Thursday's loss to the Devils after allowing two goals in the first period. The Flyers netminder was reported as having some tightness in his back and was taken out most likely as a precautionary move. Mason has been nothing short of brilliant since Michal Neuvirth went down with an injury.  

Carter Hutton gets the start for St. Louis. Hutton has proved to be one of the more reliable back up goalies in the NHL over the past few seasons. He filled in brilliantly for an injured Pekka Rinne back in 2013-14. He went 20-11-4 in 40 games that season for the Predators. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Michael Raffl, Brandon Manning, Sean Couturier, Michal Neuvirth, Matt Read, Mark Streit

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
58 Taylor Leier	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
11 Travis Konecny	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	13 Roman Lyubimov
25 Nick Cousins	27 Boyd Gordon	22 Dale Weise
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 (6th, 9th on road), Blues (7th, 18th at home)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (12th, 17th on road), Blues (2nd, 1st at home) 
• Recent History vs. Blues
  • Dec. 21, 2016 - The Flyers claimed a 4-3 victory in Philadelphia. The Blues built a 3-0 lead midway through the game before the Flyers came roaring back. They got goals from Chris Vandevelde and a pair from Wayne Simmonds to tie the game early in the third period. Evgeny Medvedev got the eventual game winner at 16:47 of the final frame. Mason made 26 saves in the win.
  • Dec. 10, 2015 - Claude Giroux netted a goal and two assists in a 4-2 victory in St. Louis. The game was scoreless after the first period before the Blues got on the board less than two minutes into the second. The Flyers responded with three goals before the end of the second to hold a 3-1 lead after 40 minutes. Former captain David Backes got the Blues to within one at 3-2 before Ryan White iced the game with an empty netter with just two ticks left on the clock. Neuvirth made 35 saves to pick up the victory.
• Sean Couturier appears ready to return to the lineup. If he does not play tonight expect him to play Friday in San Jose. 
• Michal Neuvirth will make the trip with the team but is not expected to dress in any of the three games. 

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic