Photographer: Kate Frese

Flyers-Blackhawks: Game 69 Preview

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Bill Minchin
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Bill Minchin Sports Editor

All posts by Bill Minchin
Sports Editor

Published16 Mar 2016

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Flyers look to continue their march to the postseason as they visit Chicago
 
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Photo Courtesy of Kate Frese
 
The Philadelphia Flyers (33-23-12) try to build on last night's 4-3 win over Detroit when they head to the Madhouse on Madison to play Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks (41-23-6). The Flyers enter tonight just one back of Detroit for the final playoff spot with two games in hand. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00.
 
This is the second and final meeting between the two clubs and the lone matchup in Chicago. The Flyers defeated the Blackhawks 3-0 way back on October 14th. Michal Neuvirth picked up the shutout victory in that game.

 

Flyers Leaders GP G A P Blackhawks Leaders GP G A P
Claude Giroux 65 18 40 58 Patrick Kane 70 38 51 89
Jake Voracek 60 10 38 48 Artemi Panarin 68 25 37 62
Wayne Simmonds 68 25 23 48 Jonathan Toews 69 24 24 48
Brayden Schenn 66 23 24 47 Duncan Keith 60 9 33 42
Shayne Gostisbehere 50 16 23 39 Brent Seabrook 70 13 29 42
 
Player to Watch
12 Michael Raffl 88 Patrick Kane
Last 5 Games: 4G, 3A, 7Pts, +5 Last 5 Games: 1G, 0A, 1Pts, -4
 
Michael Raffl was outstanding last night against Detroit. The winger scored two goals on two plays that were all effort. Raffl leads the team in plus/minus and has moved into sixth place on the scoring chart. After spending time on multiple lines throughout the first half of the season, he seems to have found a home on the left side of Sean Couturier. 
 
Patrick Kane is on his way to both the scoring title and possibly the MVP this year. His 89 points are 12 clear of last year's scoring champ and current second place contender Jamie Benn. The good news, he has struggled of late with just one goal in his last five games. The bad news, he is too good to stay cold for long.
 
Goalie Matchup
30 Michal Neuvirth 33 Scott Darling
16-8-4, 2.29 GAA, .925 SV% 6-5-2, 2.57 GAA, .912 SV%

Michal Neuvirth  returns between the pipes tonight for Philadelphia. Neuvirth may be the best off season acquisition of Ron Hextall's brief tenure as Flyers general manager. He has been outstanding all season long and defeated the Blackhawks earlier this season by a score of 3-0.

Scott Darling will get the nod for Chicago tonight. Darling looked like he could oust Corey Crawford as the starter last year during the Blackhawks playoff run. It never materialized and Darling has been Crawford's back up all season. 

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Jakub Voracek, R.J. Umberger, Evgeny Medvedev, Jordan Weal, Micheal Del Zotto

Left Wing Center Right Wing
10 Brayden Schenn 28 Claude Giroux 17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl 14 Sean Couturier 89 Sam Gagner
76 Chris VandeVelde 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare 25 Ryan White
21 Scott Laughton 52 Nick Cousins 24 Matt Read
Defense    
47 Andrew MacDonald 53 Shayne Gostisbehere  
32 Mark Streit 55 Nick Schultz  
23 Brandon Manning 3 Radko Gudas  
Goalie    
35 Steve Mason    

The Flyers will use the same lineup as last night.

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (17th, 10th on road), Blackhawks(3rd, 7th at home) 
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (22nd, 18th on road), Blackhawks (25th, 16th at home)
  • The Flyers are 58-45-30 all time against the Blackhawks but are just 17-29-19 in Chicago.
  • The Flyers have lost the last two meetings in Chicago.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074.