(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 |
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